Fire Emblem Awakening: Unbreakable Ties
by Amy47101
Summary: "No matter what, Rosalie, you're one of us. A Shepard. No destiny could ever change that or break the bonds we've forged together." After waking in a field with no memory but her name, Rosalie is recruited by Chrom to be the new tactician of the Shepards. As war rages throughout Ylisse, she finds that the bloody battles are nothing in comparison of the conflicts in her own heart.
1. Premonition

_He burst towards the cloaked man as purple, dark magic crackled around him. He was all to aware of this darkness, this evil. His magic was so dark and corrupted that it poisoned the minds of many, tearing them apart or making them fall helpless to his feet. Of course, this same magic was also evenly matched with his own great sword, the Falchion._

_His sword slashed through the darkness that tried to cut him, but was caught slightly off guard when the mage grabbed the blade with his magic-shrouded hands and shoved him off. The man grimaced slightly, then pushed the devilish mage back with the flat of his sword. He turned, ready to slash him, but he was already up, and sent a wave of darkness towards him. He thankfully blocked it with his sword, but barely._

_The magic surged through the blade and into his limbs, making them heavy and rather useless. While he knew that this was a form of paralysis magic that would not last long, he also knew that this same magic would buy the dark mage just enough time to land the finishing blow. _

_He struggled to stand, using his sword to help push him up. While he wondered if he would die, he swore not to die on his knees like an injured puppy in front of this fiend. The mage smirked at him, looking at him like a butcher ready to send a pig to the slaughterhouse._

_"And thus falls the great Prince Chrom of Ylisstol." he said, magic crackling around his fingers. "I'll make sure to send your wife and children your last words, and give them my regards. They will be meeting you soon."_

_"Not gonna happen!" a female voice suddenly exclaimed, sending a wave of powerful lightening at the dark mage. He whipped around and flew into the air to dodge the destructive attack, thankfully buying Chrom more time. The woman ran next to him, popping open a bottle of elixir and putting it to his lips for him to drink. "Chrom! I told you not to go ahead!" she scolded as he gulped down the medicine. _

_"Up there!" he exclaimed as the dark mage sent another attack down. Chrom quickly twisted around the woman, protecting her from the brunt of the attack, but sending them both quite a ways from the dark mage. The woman unleashed another attack, and the dark mage fell to the ground, sneering at her like she was the worst sight on earth. Chrom grabbed the hilt of his sword, lifting it. "This is our final battle, Rosalie! We need to move in closer!" She looked at him for a moment, wondering why and how he could possibly still trust her after he was well aware of what she was. He glanced at her, and smirked. "Sometimes, you're way to easy to read. You're one of us, Rosalie, a Shepard. No destiny can ever change the ties we made." _

_She felt her emotions get the best of her, tears welling up at the beauty that this man was still willing to have her... to trust her with the fate of himself and all his friends. Her as his faithful tactician and fellow warrior..._

_"Right! Lets kill this bastard and get it over with!" she responded, rushing forward. Opening her tome, she unleashed another round of lightening towards the dark mage. Chrom came up behind her, slashing his sword through him._

_"Why do you resist, fools?" the dark mage snarled. "You can not undo what is already written! Destiny has run its course!"_

_"Silence! We will put an end to this right now!" the woman exclaimed as she fired her final attack, Chrom stabbing forward one more time. The dark mage let out a roar of rage as he fell, his dark magic leaking out of him like blood normal ran from a human._

_"This... This isn't over!" he said, his last dying words as he hit the ground. The woman let out a sigh of relief she hadn't known she'd been holding... Finally... it was over... Chrom turned from the body smiling._

_"Well, that ended nicely." he said, coming up to her and wrapping his arms around her._

_"Yeah..." she sighed out, suddenly very tired and extremely relieved that she had gotten to him before the dark mage could land his final attack. Her chin resting on his shoulder, she glanced over it at the still 'smoldering' body, and widened her eyes as a large dark orb suddenly came shooting out and aiming at Chrom's back. _

_"This will never be over! Damn the both of you!" the dark mages voice shrieked, as if his spirit was screaming in rage of defeat, launching forward, hoping to take out the man whom lead his demise. That, the woman decided, was not going to happen._

_"Chrom!" she exclaimed, shoving him out of the way and taking the attack herself. _

_Her vision went blank for a moment, then she suddenly realized that she was on the ground, head surging with pain._

_"Rosalie!" he exclaimed, running over and kneeling by her side in an instant. A small groan escaped her lips as he placed an arm behind her back, lifting her head from the ground. "Are you okay? Look," he moved to the side for a minute, showing her that the body as the last bit of magic fizzled away from it, and was suddenly gone. "It's all over. Thanks to you, we carried the day." he said, moving back into her vision as he helped her stand again. His face was the only thing she could see. She widened her eyes as she realized that her outer vision was crackling with red. His voice echoed strangely, as if someone had stuck cotton in her ears."Finally, we can rest easy now." _

_Get away, she was shrieking in her mind, hoping that somehow the ties that Chrom had mentioned that they shared would link him to her thoughts, but instead confusion clouded his features._

_"Rosalie? What's wrong? Did he cut you? Should I get someone to heal you?"_

_No, she shrieked again in her mind, bring no one else! Her mind was shrieking and screaming thoughts, the red suddenly veining into her vision. She was loosing control, she couldn't stop herself. Oh, gods, what was going on?_

_"Hey... Hey! Hang on, I'll-!"_

_His eyes widened in pain, a hint of betrayal in his eyes. The woman widened her own eyes as he stumbled back, both staring at the electrical blade of magic that crackled from the center of his stomach. The woman looked around for another attacker, wondering who could've gotten so close to Chrom without either realizing, until she felt a faint tingling in her hand. She swallowed the sickening lump that formed in her throat, her stomach clenching in fear. She slowly looked down at her own hand, crackling with faint traces of electricity. No..._

_"Chrom... I... Oh, gods, Chrom!" she exclaimed, looking up at him. He smiled gently at her, eyes reflecting forgiveness._

_"It's not... It's not your fault." he said. The woman was crying now, knowing he would not survive, yet surprised he was still standing. While most always fell at the first strike, no one ever, ever survived her magic. Ever. She glanced down, ashamed of her actions. A gloved hand reached out, holding her chin and forcing her to look into his eyes. He was forgiving her, yet this made the guilt of her actions a thousand times worse. "Get out of here..." he said, voice soft, a small smile on his face, as if he was understanding her current thoughts. He leaned down, brushing his lips ever so slightly against hers, a last and faint whisper escaping them. "Promise, you'll get out of this place, Rosalie... Please... Go..." the last word came out in a whisper, and he then stepped back and fell to his side, armor clanking heavily as he fell._

_"No, Chrom!" she exclaimed, now kneeling at his side, turning him over. His eyes had closed, a small smile on his face, as if he were sleeping peacefully and was having a rather pleasant dream."Chrom, stay with us! I'll get Maribelle or Lissa or someone to heal you!" No response. She knew she would get none, and silently wept. How was it that he could die with such a peaceful look on his face when he died at the hands of the woman he loved and trusted most? "Chrom! Lucina needs you! The twins need you! Damnit, I need you!" she was sobbing, seeing no movement, no recognition that he was alive. Laughing echoed around her, bouncing off the walls, inside her head. She tilted her head back, letting out a wail of rage and despair._

_"CHROM!"_

o.0.o.0.o

**Eheh heh, quite the premonition, huh? Well, I hope you enjoy!**

**Amy47101 signing off! ^.^**


	2. On the Verge of History

o.0.o.0.o

_Prologue_

_The Verge of History_

The river water was a soothing sound to the ears of a wary traveller. So the minute the sound hit the ears of Chrom, he followed it to the point where he was practically standing on the edge of the bank, watching small minnows swim against the tiny currant, then disperse when he skipped a rock absentmindedly across the bubbling water. Chrom tilted his head back slightly, letting out a low sigh of content. It was absolutely perfect out. The sun was shining, their was a breeze in the air, ensuring that underneath the heavy armor he would still remain cool and comfortable. Add to the peaceful river water and serenity of the small clearing, all was, in a strange way, perfect.

"Be careful, Milord. T'would not do you good to fall in." Chrom sighed as his loyal but sometimes overbearing guard, Frederick, broke his peaceful revere. His younger sister, Lissa, giggled from beside Frederick's horse.

"Oh, Frederick, leave him alone! That water's only, what? Ankle deep? If he were to fall in, he'd only suffer from a heavy cape, waterlogged boots, and a soaked rear!"

"Considering if I fell in." Chrom laughed.

"But Milord-"

"Oh no, Frederick!" exclaimed Lissa as she fell over dramatically. "Help me, I have fallen!"

"Oh dear, this looks rather serious, Frederick. Whatever shall we do?" Chrom asked, having trouble keeping the serious look on his face.

"Frederick," Lissa fake coughed, arm stretching towards the sky. "I'm a... a lost cause... You must..." she coughed again. "Save Princess Chrom." she snickered and fake coughed at the same time, then her hand landed with a small thump beside her. She tried and failed to hold in her laughter, the corners of her mouth pulling into a wide grin.

"Oh no! Lissa, don't go near the light!" Chrom exclaimed, trying to hide the laughter himself. Frederick sighed, though could not help but lift the corners of his mouth slightly.

"Milady is quite an actress." he said. turning his head away to hide an eye roll. As he focused back on the river, he furrowed his eyebrows as the crystalline water began to get tainted with a reddish hue.

"Milord," Frederick said. As Chrom looked up, the knight nodded towards the river, and Chrom glanced over as well, then fell silent. Lissa, taking notice of the heavy tension in the air, opened one eye, then the other and sat up, turning her attention the the running water as well.

"Is that... blood?" she asked.

"It would appear so." Frederick said, a grim look upon his face.

"Do you suppose it's... human?" Lissa whispered out the last word.

"It may also only be that of an animal." Chrom said. "But in good measure, we should check to make sure no more brigands have decided to ransack innocent farmers." Frederick nodded, and Lissa hurried over to grab her staff from the knights horse, in case they did come across a farmer in need of healing. Frederick got up upon the horse, silver lance in hand, while Chrom edged forward with his own hand on the hilt of Falchion.

They pushed themselves through the tall grass that flourished near the riverbed, spotting specks and sometimes even puddles of blood throughout the small journey. Some of the spots were even hastily covered up, some with dirt being brushed over it, others smeared around.

"Well, at least we now know it's human." Chrom said. "No animal is smart enough to cover their tracks like that."

"Chrom, look!" Lissa exclaimed, pointing a few paces a head. A bloodied cloak was hanging over a tree branch, dripping the still wet liquid into the water.

"That explains that." Chrom said, watching as Lissa took the cloak down, and with a grimace, dipped the bloodied thing into the water and began rubbing away the blood. Red blossomed around the black cloak like a flower, and soon, the water washed away all traces of the redness.

"It's a good thing we found and cleaned that out while it was still fresh." Lissa said, passing the soaking thing to Chrom, absentmindedly, now washing away the blood on her hands. "It would've stained something _horrible, _wether it was black or not."

"But who's it is? The question is left unanswered." Chrom said.

"Milord." Frederick said, nodding to a spot up ahead. Both Chrom and Lissa lifted their heads, and saw the trail of blood continued, this time whomever was bleeding didn't even bother to try to cover the flow. They followed the trail, and Lissa gasped at the sight of a young woman, maybe eighteen or nineteen, laying prone on the ground, a large gash running across her stomach and her arm bent at a funny angle. Her light green hair was pulled sloppily off oh her face into a small ponytail while the remaining strands framed her face. A book and a set of gloves lay next to her.

"Is she dead?" Chrom asked, taking a step closer.

"Don't, Milord," Frederick said. "It may be a-"

"She's breathing!" Lissa exclaimed, already at her side. Frederick let out sigh of irritation.

"Trap." he finished, dismounting his horse as Chrom hurried beside Lissa. The younger girl was already tending to the womans wounds, grimacing slightly.

"Ooh, she must've been attacked by bandits or something." she said, using her healing staff to take care of the large wound on her stomach. Chrom watched as the blood disappeared and the skin stitched itself together, leaving only a faint, white line where the injury had been.

"You never cease to amaze me, Lissa." he said. "But I don't think it was bandits." he nudged a small pouch at the girls hip. Coins jingled around. "They would've stolen that, plus, they wouldn't have let her escape so easily."

"Perhaps she is Plegian?" Frederick asked, eyeing the cloak in Chroms hands. "Gold on black is one of their signature colors."

"No, Plegians usually have darker features. Dark black or red hair. Darker skin. She's kinda pale, and has light green colored hair." Lissa said, frowning as she moved to the woman's arm "It's broken." Lissa said. "Gods, I've always hated broken bones." Lissa waved her staff over the arm, and the bone suddenly began moving itself back into place. The woman grimaced in her sleep, letting out a low moan of pain before falling back unconscious as her arm fixed itself.

"Well, I have dark hair and I know I'm not Plegian." Chrom said, pointing at the dark blue locks atop his head.

"Perhaps she is a fae...?" Lissa asked.

"But Stahl also has green hair and he's human." Chrom said.

"Wether fae or human, she could be an enemy of Ylisse." Frederick stated. "Though I would much rather deal with a Plegian spy than a fairy of the Unseelie Court." There was a long silence.

"Chrom, we have to do something. We can't just leave her here..." Lissa muttered behind her hand.

"Well, what do you propose we do?" Chrom asked. Lissa looked at him.

"Eh... I- I dunno!" Lissa exclaimed. There was a small groan, and both snapped their attention to the woman on the ground. Her eyelids squeezed together for a moment, then she slowly opened them, blinking at the onslaught of light. Lissa gasped, and Chrom could not help but let out a small breath himself, though more out of the strange coloring of her eyes rather than the fact she was awake. The woman's eyes were a deep violet, so deep that it reminded him of the amethysts that were in the Ylissetol vault.

"So you're awake, huh?" Chrom asked. The woman turned her gaze to him, blinking.

"Hey there..." Lissa said gently, catching the attention of the woman. She glanced between the two, and Chrom smiled gently himself.

"There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know." Chrom said. The woman opened her mouth to speak- Chrom could imagine a witty retort coming off her tongue- but her stopped her by holding out his hand. "Give me your hand." The woman slowly reached out her right hand, and placed it in his own. That's when he widened his eyes.

On the back of her hand was a purple mark, six eyes connected by a single curved line. Lissa saw it too, and stiffened slightly. Regardless, he pulled her up, yet she stumbled. He caught her by the arms before she fell, and turned his head to Lissa, then mouthed _Frederick._ Nodding, Lissa turned to the knight.

"Frederick, this woman is probably suffering from really bad blood loss. I'm going to go get her some water." she pranced off through the field back towards the river. Frederick snapped his head between Chrom and Lissa, then sighed and mounted his horse.

"Milord, be careful of vipers. They often tend to hide in the fields." Frederick said before galloping off after Lissa. Chrom groaned inwardly. He knew that it wasn't just a warning to look out for poisonous snakes, but to be wary of the woman that they were assisting.

"Can you stand?" Chrom asked, turning his attention back to the woman. She furrowed her brow, then steadied herself. Chrom knelt down, scooping up her gloves and the book, passing the former to her first. "Put these on, before they come back."

"Why?" she asked. Chrom blinked.

"Do you not know where you are? The meaning of the mark on the back of your hand?"

"Mark?" she asked, glancing at her hand. She furrowed her brow again.

"That's the mark of Grima, the fell dragon. You aren't from Plegia, are you?"

"Plegia? Is that where I am? And who's Grima?" she asked, sliding the gloves onto her hands. Chrom nearly choked on his words. How could she _not _know these things?

"Are you from Valm?" he asked, passing her book back to her, thinking that she was from the neighborly continent, and was just uneducated.

"Valm?" she asked again.

"Okay... Listen, alright? You cannot let anyone here see that mark. Plegia is trying to start war with us. I have heard rumors that Plegians have been dragging our citizens over the border and branding them as examples, but regardless, Frederick does not trust any Plegian, let alone one with the mark."

"Oh. Thank you, Chrom." the words rang so easy off her tongue, that Chrom was almost relieved. Maybe she wasn't completely ignorant.

"So you've heard of me?" he asked with a grin.

"Oh, um... I don't know, your name just came to me." she said. Chrom blinked, grin slowly lowering to a frown.

"What's your name?" he asked. She furrowed her brow again.

"I... I don't know... I'm sorry, I really confused. What's going on? I'm in... Ylisse, right? Do I know you? Can you tell me who I am?" Chrom was slightly taken aback. Had Plegian forces attacked her so badly...?

"I have never met you before in my life." Chrom said honestly. Her entire face seemed to crumble under those nine words.

"We're back!" Lissa shouted happily, holding up the water she gathered. "Here, how are you feeling?" the woman blinked, then shook her head.

"I'm sorry, who are these people, Chrom? Do I know you? Do you know me?"

"Nope!" Lissa said.

"What's your name?" Frederick asked, eyeing her warily.

"I don't know." the woman said, shaking her head. "I can't remember anything."

"Oh! I know what that is! It's called amnesia!" Lissa exclaimed.

"It's called a pile of pegasus dung." Frederick said. "Can you honestly expect us to believe you remember Milords name and not your own?" The woman opened her mouth, obviously offended.

"But it's the truth!" she exclaimed.

"What is it _is _true, Frederick? We can't just leave her here, alone and confused." Chrom said. "What kind of Shepherds would we be, then?"

"Just the same, Milord. I must emphasize caution. 'Twould not do to let a wolf into our flock."

"Then lets take her back to town, and sort this out there."

"Maybe someone will recognize her!" Lissa exclaimed.

"Now hold on a moment. Do I get a say in this?" the woman asked, taking a cautionary step back, gripping the book to her chest.

"Peace, friend." Chrom said with a gentle smile. "I promise we'll hear all you have to say back in town. Now come."

o.0.o.0.o

The woman was glad to have her cloak back.

They had been walking for a few hours, and the garment had since dried out and was returned to her. She was glad to, though was uncomfortable with the fact that the knight, whom she assumed was Frederick, insisted on riding upon his horse behind her while Chrom and his female companion walked ahead of them. He even asked her to hand over any weaponry she had on hand, which was just simply a bronze sword. It was as if she expected her to come and stab them in the back when they weren't looking.

"What will you do with me?" she finally asked, tired of Fredericks cautious glances. "Am I to be your prisoner?" Chrom turned and chuckled.

"You're free to go one we establish you are no enemy of Ylisse." he said with a grin. The woman looked in his direction.

"Is that where we are?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows. "Ylisse?"

"You've never hear of the halidom?" Frederick asked. "Ha! Someone pay this actress, she plays quite the fool! That furrowed brow is especially convincing..."

"Frederick, please." Chrom said with a sigh, then turning his attention back to the woman. "This land is known as the Halidom of Ylisse. Our ruler, Emmeryn, is called the exalt." he glanced between Lissa and Frederick. "I suppose proper introductions are in order. I'm Chrom, but you already knew that." he paused, and turned to Lissa. "The delicate one here is my little sister, Lissa."

"I am not delicate!" exclaimed Lissa angrily. "Ignore my brother, please. He can be a bit thick at times." she shut her eyes and smiled. "You're lucky the Shepherds found you. Brigands would've been a rude awakening!"

"Speaking of Brigands..." Frederick said, dismounting his horse and standing beside it. "We found you injured. "Care to explain?" the woman sighed, a slightly irritated sigh, but remained patient.

"I told you, sir, that I cannot remember who I am or how I got here." she said voice slightly sharp, her true irritation peaking through. "Anyways, Shepards, you said? You tend sheep... in full armor?"

"Heh." Chrom said. "It's a dangerous job. Just ask Frederick the Wary here." he clapped the other man on his heavily armored shoulder, and the woman caught the corner of Fredericks mouth twitch up slightly at his nickname.

"A title I shall hold with pride." he said, closing his eyes. "Gods forbid one of us keeps an appropriate level of caution." he opened his eyes, and looked at the woman. "I have every wish to trust you, stranger, but my position mandates otherwise."

"I understand, sir." the woman responded, finding a new light of respect for the protective man. "I would do no less myself. My name is Rosalie." there was a pause. "I just remembered that. How odd. I suppose that's one mystery solved."

"Rosalie, huh?" Chrom said, mulling over the name for himself.

"It's pretty!" Lissa exclaimed, turning in a circle. "We don't have names like that here in Ylisse."

"It must be foreign." Chrom said. "We can discuss it later. We're almost to town. Once we-"

"Chrom, look! The town!" Lissa exclaimed, pointing. Before them showed a town with several smoking building, villagers running and screaming for their lives. Chrom ground his teeth together.

"Damn it! The town is ablaze!" he exclaimed. "Those blasted brigands no doubt..." he turned away from the ghastly sight and towards his comrades. "Lissa, Frederick, quickly!" he shouted as he began running.

"But Milord!" Frederick exclaimed as his horse reared back. Once he calmed it, he yelled out his question. "What about her?" Chrom growled under his breath and turned.

"Unless she is on fire as well, it can wait!" he exclaimed, before turning and running with Lissa at his heels. Frederick nodded.

"Aptly put, Milord." he said as he mounted the horse and began galloping after him, her bronze sword clattering to the ground while leaving Rosalie in the dust. Rosalie looked at the three figures leaving her, scooped up her sword and put it in it's sheath, and turned the opposite direction. She could leave them now, and not have to worry about them taking her prisoner or anything. She knew from the jangle at her side that she had money, so she could easily purchase a new sword, perhaps even better than that bronze one.

"_We found you injured." _Frederick voice echoed. Rosalie stopped, remembering that. She was injured, yet she felt no pain. She did a quick glance over, and saw no sight of injury minus the pale scar running across her stomach. One of the three must possess healing abilities, she decided.

She sighed. She didn't like the idea of owing someone a favor. It just didn't sit well with her. She looked back up at the smoke billowing from the town, then sighed.

She ran towards the sounds of battle.

o.0.o.0.o

"Get to it lads!" Garrick exclaimed as he laughed. "Grab anything shiny and put the rest to the torch! We've gots an example to set for these Ylissean types! Ain't that right, lass?" he turned his attention to a random maiden that he grabbed off the streets, smirking as he held his axe to her throat.

"S-stay away from me!" she exclaimed as she pulled at her wrist, trying, and failing, to get free. "Please! Someone! Help!"

"Chrom, we have to stop them!" Lissa exclaimed as she, Frederick, and Chrom entered the town.

"Don't worry," Chrom said darkly as he watched the bandits approach them, cocky and ready for a challenge. He pulled Falchion from it's scabbard, glaring as he held it in front of them. "After today, these bandits won't be bothering anyone ever again."

"Chrom, wait!" Rosalie exclaimed as she rushed next to him.

"Rosalie! You followed us! Why?!" Chrom exclaimed in response.

"I-I'm not certain myself. But I am certain I know my way around a fight." she pulled out her sword, wielding it in front of her in similar fashion to Chrom. "I'm armed, if you'll have me."

"Of course, strength in numbers." Chrom said, adjusting his weight on his feet. "Just stay close!"

"Understood!" Rosalie replied.

"Remember, Rosalie," Frederick said, coming up to her on her horse. "We face practiced thieves and murders. They will grant us no quarter, it is kill or be killed."

"Again, understood!" Rosalie said with a grin.

Frederick moved forward to attack a bandit, spearing him with his lance skillfully. A bandit with an axe ran forward. He looked to be aiming for Chrom, but faked to the right and went around him, heaving the heavy weapon over is head to attack Lissa. Lissa shrieked, but before Chrom of Frederick could come to her aide, Rosalie ran for the bandit, and held the axe steady with her sword. Both were evenly matched in strength, iron on bronze creating sparks as they ground against each other.

"Lissa, find a place to hide! I've got this!" Rosalie exclaimed, pushing the bandit back so that he stumbled, then giving him a good roundhouse kick to the side of the head.

"Gurgh!" he grunted as the axe fell from his hands. Rosalie narrowed her eyes, then ran her sword through his chest. He gurgled for a moment, then fell, slowly sliding off the blade.

She turned, seeing a mage. She narrowed her eyes as he sent a slash of air her way, and held up the sword, using it as a shield. She skidded back a little, a few stray bits of wind magic slicing into her cheeks and clothes, making paper thin cuts. She blinked as she saw thin cracks form along her sword, then it shattered. She held up the hilt in surprise. Had she really used the sword so much that it shattered after only two hits?

She felt something thrum at her hip, and her fingers brushed the book that was secured in it's leather carrier. She pulled it out, flipping through the pages filled with words she could just barely decipher. She looked up, words filling her head and what she should say, when she saw that the mage about to attack her already had his eyes wide with pain, a silver spear through his abdomen. Her gaze trailed up to the spears owner, and was unsurprised to see Frederick holding the weapon atop his horse, yet surprised that he took the time to save her.

"Alas to you." Frederick said to the mage as he pulled his weapon free, the mage falling, dead before he hit the ground. He turned his attention to Lissa, who peeked cautiously from behind stacked crates. "Milady, are you unharmed?"

"I'm fine! Rosalie saved me!" Lissa said. "Though, her sword broke in the process of protecting me..."

"It's fine. There are millions of swords, but only one Lissa." Rosalie said. "Besides, I think I can use magic..."

"You think?" Chrom inquired as he came up to them. "I'll make sure to stick a few paces behind you, then."

"No, I can control it, I'm sure." Rosalie said. She glanced at her opponents, squinting. "Alright, Frederick! You stay and protect Lissa. Lissa if any villagers or soldiers gets injured, heal them. Chrom and I will take on the remaining bandits!" She wasn't quite sure what caused Frederick to listen, but he simply nodded, keeping his steed close to Lissa as both brandished their weapons. Perhaps, she figured, it was the brotherly protection he held over her.

"You're pretty good at ordering people around." Chrom joked as they both rushed towards a swordsman. Rosalie smirked.

"It's strange, Chrom, but I can see things." Chrom stiffened slightly.

"See things?" he repeated. Though he was not one to judge... he did not want a hallucinating woman with no memory walking around.

"Yes... I can see what weapon the enemy holds, their strengths, their weaknesses..." she trailed off, pausing to shout an incantation. A surge of electricity crackled from her palm, slamming into the swordsman and promptly ending his life. She smiled slightly as she stared down at her crackling palm. "I must have studied this somewhere."

"So you can size up an enemy at a glance?" he asked. "Good to know."

"Pay attention, _Prince!" _a bandit cackled as he whipped a throwing axe in their direction. Chrom dodged it with ease, and it flew past his head. Rosalie, however, was not so lucky. She had he back turned, dodging attacks of another swordsman when the small thing grazed her shoulder. Blood spilled out of the wound, and while distracted, the swordsman took the chance to finish the blow.

Chrom turned, knocking the axeman to his side, then sprinted forward.

"Your end has come!" he exclaimed, thrusting his sword into the bandits abdomen, just next to Rosalie's hip. The bandit fell, and Rosalie turned, towards Chrom, holding her hand to the wound on her shoulder to stop the bleeding.

"Are you trying to take me out, too?" she asked as Frederick speared the axeman and Lissa ran over.

"Nope, only doing my job." Chrom said.

"We'll see who's delicate!" Lissa exclaimed, shooting a glance at Chrom. "I may not be able to attack like Chrom and Frederick, but when you're injured? _I'll _be the one stitching your bones back together, care of my trusty staff!" she waved the staff, surrounded in a pale blue light, around Rosalie's shoulder and watched as the cut mended itself again.

"Thank you, Lissa." Rosalie said, adjusting her cloak slightly.

"Are you alright, Rosalie?" Chrom asked. "Don't rush into danger."

"I'm fine, Chrom." Rosalie said, smiling softly. "Don't worry."

"You've lent us your strength. That makes you a friend." Chrom said. "Having an ally by my side gives me courage."

"Well... there might be more than that. Working in pairs... There should be a tactical advantage." she scrunched her eyes shut, furrowing her eyebrows. "It's a little fuzzy, but I think working together, side by side, improves strength, defense, speed..." she looked up, a grin on her face as she stood. "Yes, yes, I'm sure of it!"

"Here sheepy, sheepy!" exclaimed the head bandit, trying to keep his confidence even though all his underlings were dead. "Come to the slaughter!"

"Help me!" exclaimed the village maiden whom was still being used as a hostage.

"How should we go about this?" Chrom asked. Rosalie furrowed her brow in concentration.

"He's wielding an axe, which means he'll be very slowly. Likely he is all bulk, thus slowing him down more. If we do a combo attack, we should be able to take him down without harming the girl." Rosalie said. "Chrom, you act as a distraction and I'll try to sneak behind him to deal a blow." Chrom nodded in response and ran forward. While doing this, Rosalie bolted behind the brigand. Chrom swung his sword, which the brigand dodged, laughing.

"Seems the good Shepard cares not for his sheep!" he taunted, then winced as Chrom nicked his arm, causing him to release the maiden. While she scrambled behind the protection of Chrom, Rosalie unleashed a wave of electricity on the bandit. He shrieked in pain, then whipped around, axe in hand. "Damn Ylissean whore!" he roared in anger as it swung down. Rosalie widened his eyes, surprised he somehow survived the electrical shock, then began to scramble out of the way of the axe.

"Think again!" Chrom exclaimed, blocking the axe with his sword, giving Rosalie an opening to attack. Electricity surged through her fingers, and she unleashed it, ending the brigands life.

There was a long silence as a few villagers peeked out windows. Some of the bolder ones came out to move the bodies from their town. Lissa and Frederick approached them as Chrom sheathed Falchion and Rosalie exhaled, tucking the tome back into it's holder at her hip.

"Well, that's the end of that." she said with a grin.

"Lucky for the town, we were close by." Lissa said. "But holy wow, Rosalie! You were incredible! Swords, sorcery, _and _tactics! Is there anything you _can't_ do?" Rosalie smiled, shaking her head.

"It's nothing, really." Rosalie muttered sheepishly.

"You're certainly no helpless victim, that much is for sure." Chrom said.

"Indeed." Frederick said, dismounting his steed and walking up to them. "Perhaps you are even capable of an explanation for how you came here?" Rosalie turned to Frederick.

"I understand you skepticism, Sir Frederick." she said, choosing her words carefully. "But I cannot explain why only some knowledge has returned to me. Please believe me, I have shared all that I know."

"You fought for Ylissean lives." Chrom said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "My heart tells me that's enough."

"And your mind, milord?" Frederick asked. "Will you not heed its council as well?"

"Frederick," Chrom said calmly, his hand dropping from her shoulder. "The Shepherds could use someone with Rosalie's talents. We've brigands and unruly neighbors, all wishing to bloody our soil. Would you really have us loose such an able and talented tactician?"

"What of Miriel? Is she not able enough?" Frederick asked.

"Trust me, Miriel is plenty capable... when we can understand what she is saying half the time without the use of books on english vocabulary. Besides," Chrom said, shooting a smile at Rosalie. "I believe her story, odd as it may be."

"Th-Thank you, Chrom." Rosalie said. Chrom turned to her.

"So what about it, Rosalie? Will you join us?" Rosalie smiled.

"I would be honored."

o.0.o.0.o

Later that day, Rosalie helped the villagers put out most of the fires with her wind magic and Lissa healed villagers with her staff. Once done, the two met up with Frederick and Chrom at the edge of town.

"Hey! We're finished!" Lissa said, bounding up to them.

"Good!" Chrom laughed, ruffling his sisters hair. She blinked, readjusting her headpiece then smiling again.

"Did you notice, Milord?" Frederick asked. "The brigands spoke with a Plegian accent."

"Plegia?" Rosalie asked, recalling that Chrom spoke of it earlier, though she never got a full explanation.

"Plegia is Ylisse's westerly neighbor, though the word 'neighborly' isn't exactly in their vocabulary." Chrom explained. "They often send small bands into or territory to instigate a war."

"And it's the poor townsfolk who suffer!" Lissa exclaimed, clenching her fists and shaking her head, blond pigtails whipping back and forth. "Totally innocent and totally helpless."

"But they do have us, Milady;" Frederick said. "Shepherds to protect the sheep. Do not be swept up in your anger, it will cloud you judgement." Lissa sighed.

"I know, I know..." she said, then clenched her fist determinedly. "Don't worry! I'll get used to all this!"

"Milord!" exclaimed the maiden whom they had saved earlier that day. Accompanying her was an older man, presumably her father. Rosalie smiled slightly as she tried to fix her dirtied apron and slightly messed up hair. "You must stay the night! As thanks for saving our town!"

"We are but simple folk of simple means, but we would gladly toast your valor with a feast!" exclaimed the man.

"A most generous offer, sir, and no doubt your hospitality would be grand..." Frederick said, smiling slightly at the villager. "But I'm afraid we must hurry back to Ylisstol."

"Dark meat only for me," Lissa said, completely ignoring Fredericks words. "Medium well, and no salt in the soup. I simply-" by then, what Frederick said finally kicked in, and Lissa's mouth hung open. "Wait, what?! We're not staying?! But _Frederiiiiiiick, _it's nearly dark!" Frederick turned, smiling at Lissa.

"When night falls, we'll camp. Eat off the land, make our bed of twigs and the like..." he trailed off. Here, Chrom cut in.

"Lissa, I believe you said you'd be "getting used to this"?" Chrom asked. Lissa pouted.

"Frederick, Chrom... sometimes I hate you." she said, crossing her arms. Rosalie laughed slightly, unable to hold it in.

"I'm sorry." she said, covering her mouth with her hand. "It's just, you've got quite the stern lieutenant there."

"Yeah, well, stern is on name for it." Lissa said. "I can think of _quite _a few others!"

"Frederick only smiles when he's about to bring down the axe."

"Or when he's teasing us!" Lissa chimed in. Rosalie gulped slightly.

"Duly noted." she said. Frederick coughed.

"You do realize I am still present, correct?" he asked, brow twitching in irritation.

"Oh, we realize." Chrom laughed. Rosalie and Lissa snickered with him, while Frederick simply held his arms behind his back, waiting for them to settle down.

"Milord remains as amusing as ever." he said. "Now, then, shall we get going?"

"Alright, alright." Chrom said, turning to Rosalie. "Ready, Rosalie? The capital isn't far. Once there, I'll get you a new sword in replace of the one you broke."

o.0.o.0.o

**Wow, that was a long chapter. I hope you enjoyed!**

**Amy47101 signing off! ^.^**


	3. Unwelcome Change: Part One

o.0.o.0.o

_Chapter One_

_Unwelcome Change_

"I told you!" Lissa exclaimed, pointing at Frederick. "It's getting dark already! And now the bugs are out! Noisy, disgusting bugs that buzz around and crawl all over and bite you when-" Lissa shrieked suddenly. "Won goph in mag mouph!" she began to frantically run her hands across her tongue in an attempt to get the bug out of her mouth, when loud laughter erupted behind her.

"Not much for camping, eh, Lissa?" Rosalie lifted her head up to the voice, and saw a woman clad in red armor sitting atop a white horse wielding a lance. Riding on the same horse was another man, dressed far to fancily for traveling. Rosalie noticed he was wielding a bow and arrow.

Standing next to the horse was a young man around twenty years old. He had purple hair that hung to his chin, onyx eyes, and wore a dark red vest with black pants. Armor covered his shins, and he went barefoot. Bandages wound around his wrists, hands, and a small strip around his forehead, though she doubted that it was for injury. Most surprising of all, to Rosalie, at least, were the purple cat ears that stuck out from atop his head.

"Blegh! Ptoey!" Lissa exclaimed in response.

"Aw, come on now, Lissa. Hardship builds character!" Chrom joked as Lissa held her hands over her mouth. "Rosalie, this is Sully. She's one of our cavaliers. Sully, this is Rosalie, our new tactician."

"Nice to meet ya!" Sully exclaimed, hopping down from her horse. "Anyways, Frederick, I got you some new recruits! This here," she pointed to the man with cat ears. "Is Demyan. He's from another country known as Tellius, and is a Cat Laguz of the Beast Tribe."

"A Laguz?" Frederick asked, coming down from his own steed. Demyan looked up.

"Laguz are similar in your country's 'Taguel'." he said. "We, however, do not need a stone to transform. Like Sully said, I am a cat." his tail flicked back and forth as he spoke. "We have been facing... problems in Tellius. Recently, you humans have been hostile towards us. Just as suddenly, my entire tribe suddenly disappeared. Fearing a genocide, I've decided to seek out the Taguels and our allies."

"I see." Chrom said, walking up to him. "So you seek to become a Shepard?"

"I suppose. Our allies seem to be strangely... attracted to the Exalt and their bloodline."

"Should we be worried that harm will come to them?" Frederick asked defensively. Demyan held up his hand.

"Peace, knight. Our allies and the Exalts have been on good terms for many centuries. Don't fear them." Frederick nodded.

"Good to know." Chrom said. "My name is Chrom. This is my little sister, Lissa," he patted Lissa on the head, other hand outstretched. "And this is our guard, Frederick." The blue haired man took his hand.

"I am the noblest of men, the dignified of dignity, the archest of archers, my name, it is Vi-"

"This is Ruffles. We'll set it at that." Sully said. The blue haired man looked slightly taken aback as Chrom dropped his hand and he held his hand up.

"W-Wait! Virion. My name is Virion." he said. There was a long pause, everyone taking in the new company. Virion turned his attention to Rosalie, who still had yet to come up from behind Chrom. She didn't pay much attention to Virion, for she was still trying to comprehend how it was biologically possible for Demyan to have cat ears. She did, however, feel someone staring, and turned to look at Virion, who's face lit up at catching her glance. She felt an icy coldness drop into her stomach, and took a cautionary step back.

"Ah, milady!" exclaimed Virion, slightly shoving Chrom out of the way as he come forward, taking her hands in his. "I did not see you behind your blue haired friend! I must say, your eyes are that of the most ravishing color! Not even the legendary fae could match their beauty! Now would you so kindly do me the honor of marr-"

"Shut it, Ruffles!" Sully exclaimed loudly, grabbing his ear and dragging him away. "Did I mention he was a pervert? Yeah, he is. But at least the lousy piece of shit is good with a bow."

"Excuse me milady, but your strong grip is on my ear, which is attached to my head. And I believe that pervert is a very strong, strong term..." Sully glanced at Chrom, who shrugged, then nodded. She let go of his ear, and he sighed in relief. "Thank you." Virion said. "Now perhaps you will do me the honor in ma-"

"NO!" Sully hollered, kicking him in the face. Virion fell to the ground.

"My, those shapely legs certainly can kick..." he muttered.

"I'm going hunting!" she shouted over her shoulder. At this, Virion hopped up, completely recovered from his kick to the face.

"W-Wait, my dearest Sully! Allow me to accompany you!"

"Try anything and I'll kick you again!" Sully shouted, already stomping away. There was a small silence.

"Alright, then..." Chrom said. Rosalie turned and smiled at him.

"I'm kinda glad Sully pulled him away." she laughed. "I was contemplating the pros and cons of using one of the spells in my tome!"

"It's a good thing you didn't." Demyan said, crossing his arms. "It would've been a waste of a spell." Lissa giggled behind her hand. Rosalie turned to Chrom.

"So should you and I go and hunt for some game or-" Frederick stepped forward and spoke, cutting her off.

"Rosalie, Demyan, and Lissa, stay and clear the camp." he said. "I'll go with Chrom." Rosalie widened her eyes, wanting to glare at the knight, but rather, nodded.

"Alright." she said, nodding. She turned, watching as Demyan darted into the woods to gather firewood while Chrom and Frederick went to hunt for food. She let out a low sigh at Frederick's lack to trust her.

"It's okay!" Lissa said with a smile. "He'll warm up to you eventually. After all, even with that... _you know _on your hand."

"...But he doesn't know. Do you think he can sense it?" Rosalie asked. Lissa grinned.

"He isn't called Frederick the Wary for nothing! Everything will be fine, I promise. If I trust you and Chrom trusts you, then eventually, we can get all of Ylisstol to trust you as well!" Rosalie smiled slightly as Demyan came back with the wood. She and Lissa began to set the wood for the fire.

"I can only hope." Rosalie muttered forlornly under her breath.

o.0.o.0.o

"Ah, bear meat! It's been such a long time since I've had it. Delicious!" Chrom exclaimed as he tossed aside some bones. Lissa's eyebrow twitched slightly.

"Um, Chrom... couldn't you have killed an animal that _normal _people eat?" she asked. "I mean, come on! Who eats bear? It's greasy and and it smells like old boots!" she sat for a minute as Chrom opened his mouth to speak. "Actually, I take that back, old boots smell better!"

"Come now, Lissa, the life of a Shepard is full of hardships." Frederick said with a small smile, folding his hands in front of him. Lissa turned to glare at him.

"Oh yeah?! Then how come I don't see _you _eating, Frederick?" she asked. Rosalie looked up slightly, and although it was very, very subtle, she saw Frederick flinch ever so slightly.

"I... uh... Had a very large lunch. Yes, quite." Sully tilted her head back and laughed again, loud and echoing. Chrom and Virion chuckled as well, while Demyan hopped down from the tree he took refuge in.

"I'd say my Laguz senses are picking up on a lier, but I don't think I need 'em to refute _that."_ he said as he walked over, snatched Frederick's uneaten meat, and hopped back up into the tree. Rosalie shook her head and went back to her meal. Admittedly, it did smell kind of gross, but once she got past the smell, the taste was actually pretty good.

"Rosalie? Am I right, Rosalie?" Lissa asked. Rosalie lifted her head, still chewing.

"Sorry, what?" Lissa's hand flew to her forehead as the others laughed. Rosalie looked around curiously. "What? What did I say?"

"Nothing." Lissa mumbled. "I guess one will eat anything if you haven't eaten for days." Rosalie smiled slightly as she looked across at small campsite then, like Chrom had done earlier, tossed her bones to the side. She wondered for a moment if she also had a sister like Lissa, or maybe someone overprotective like Frederick. Was she married? Who were her parents like?

Suddenly, a huge wave of grief swept over her, filling her every being with sorrow and pain. She wanted to know who she was, where she was from, and how she ended up injured in a field in the middle of the day.

"Rosalie?" Chrom asked. "You've been staring into space for a while. Are you tired?" Rosalie looked at him and smiled.

"Yeah, I kinda am. I'm turning it in. See you in the morning!" she laid down and rolled over, back to her comrades.

She felt the tears roll down her cheeks as she fell asleep.

o.0.o.0.o

_He recognized the place, of course. It was his own home. The castle in Ylisstol. What he did not understand, though, was the horrifying monsters that swarmed the hallways, battling Ylissean soldiers. Patches of skin stretched across their bodies, stitched tightly with some form of thick thread. Some of them were dressed in full armor and wielded axes, though if it weren't for the fact that they looked like walking corpses, then he may have thought they were foreign forces attacking Ylisstol._

_"Princess... kill... Children... Die!" one of them gargled out between grunts and growls. Chrom widened his eyes. Princess?! The only princess in Ylisstol was Lissa! And if they're searching for her... where was Emmeryn?_

_A shriek pierced the air and he whipped around, seeing a blond girl wielding a bow and arrow being pressed against the wall, the living corpse with a hand on her throat examining her features._

_"Lucina, no!" a male voice shouted. He turned again and saw a blue-haired woman bolt towards the corpse holding the blond captive._

_"I believe the woman you are looking for," she said as she ran her sword through the ugly beast. "Is me!" as she said this she slashed upward. The beast disappeared in a puff of purple and black smoke. "Are you okay, Noire?"_

_"I-I'm fine... My talisman... Where...? Ah, here it is!" she picked up a strange, necklace-like item and put it around her neck. She closed her eyes for a minute, then the snapped open, a rather menacing look on her face. "I AM BLOOD AND THUNDER! I AM RIGHTEOUS FURY! I WILL SLAUGHTER YOU ALL!" _

_Chrom blinked at her sudden mood swing, then turned and saw fourteen other teenagers come up to them, all of them not in the traditional Ylissean guard uniform. He assumed they must be leading the army._

_"Noire has the right idea!" Lucina said. "We can't let these things win." she turned, cutting through another corpse and killing it. "We have to stand up and fight!"_

o.0.o.0.o

"Gah!" Chorm exclaimed as he bolted up, the dream suddenly ending and him finding himself very, very scared. Scared for the fourteen teenagers whom he was sure he haven't met before, but seemed vaguely familiar. The corpses addressed one of them as a princess, though he saw no mark of the Exalt on any of them. Perhaps the princess of another land? No, that was certainly Ylisstol's palace. He recalled the young woman named Lucina to claim to be the woman they were looking for. Princess Lucina?Perhaps from the past?

He'd look into the family records, see if they have any relations to a Lucina. Or any stories of living corpses attacking the palace.

"Oh, Chrom, you're awake!" Lissa exclaimed silently from across the campsite. "I was about to wake you for the next watch." Chrom glanced around, realizing just how silent the world around him was. Not even the animals were making any noise.

"Lissa, something feels amiss." he said slowly, looking around. He wasn't sure if it was his dream or he was paranoid about the looming danger of Plegia, but he stood up.

"Define something." Lissa said, yawning.

"Would you mind keeping watch a little longer?" Chrom asked. "I'm going to go and look around."

"Not alone, you won't!" Lissa exclaimed, standing up and stretching. "It's dangerous around here. I'll come with you!" Chrom knew better than to argue with his headstrong little sister, and nodded.

"Alright." Chrom said with a sigh. "Just stay close." They turned away from their campsite and began to walk through the forest, silence enveloping them. They walked for some time until they paused.

"It's so quiet..." Lissa said, looking around. "Where did the birds go?"

"They must have sensed it too..." Chrom muttered to himself. Suddenly, the earth jerked back forth, causing them to stumble slightly. Lissa let out a small shriek.

"Chrom!" she exclaimed.

"Gods! What's going on?!" Chrom exclaimed as he threw his arm protectively around his sister. Suddenly, the shaking stopped for a moment, until the ground suddenly split in front of them. It rose up, lava spewing and spitting. Both siblings stood shocked for a moment. Chrom snapped out of it first. "Lissa, run." he ordered.

"W-What?" Lissa asked, tearing her eyes away from looming disaster to look up at him.

"I mean it, go!" he shouted, giving her a slight shove. She took off running while he stayed a few minutes longer, staring up at the earth that loomed over him. Fireballs suddenly rained down and he turned and bolted, quickly catching up to Lissa with his long strides. She seemed to be running blindly, glancing over her shoulder to make sure no fireballs or lava set her aflame. "This way!" he shouted, redirecting her. "Come on!" The ran farther and farther until they were a good distance from the destruction. Lissa was bent over, catching her breath while he whipped his head around, trying to calm himself and remember where the camp was. They had to warn the others!

"Chrom!" Lissa exclaimed, standing up and pointing. "What is that?!" he looked to where his finger was pointing, and stood openmouthed as a small glowing lights appeared, seemingly gathering into the center. Suddenly, it burst with golden runes surrounding it. Dark magic filtered around it, and suddenly, the blue light in the middle snapped open like an eye.

Two figures appeared, slowly falling from the eye, then landing on the ground. The siblings stared in shock, eyes following the dark figures as they stood, as if testing their bodies and limbs.

"Are they... Are they human?" Lissa asked. They walked forward, both wielding an axe. Their eyes glowed red in the darkness, but they could clearly see that, despite the eyes, they were _not _human. Patches of blackened flesh stretched across their faces, knitted together with thread. Their forms were gaunt, flesh stretching across bones. Human and monster stared at each other for a moment.

"Lissa," Chrom said, unsheathing Falchion. "You might want to get back." he held up the sword in battle stance while Lissa backed away, though stayed close, clutching her staff nervously in case her brother needed healing. One of the monsters sauntered forward, stumbling a little, then let out a roar, rotten black and purple smoke coming out of his mouth. Then he burst forward, axe raised.

Chrom lifted his sword, focusing on those blood-lusting eyes, then slammed the flat of his sword upside his head. He let out a breath, knowing the sheer force of the blow would at least knock him out, if not break his neck completely.

He widened his eyes, though, as he realized that the creature was still groaning like it was earlier. He whipped around, and saw that the creature seemed frozen in place for a moment, then the joints in its neck cracked. Suddenly, its head, and only its head, turned fully around, roaring at him. While Chrom was momentarily distracted, it swung its axe back around. In a split second, he was holding up the Falchion, sparks flying as the axe ground against the metal. Chrom ground his teeth together, waiting for a moment of weakness.

Finally, he saw it, and pushed the Falchion upwards, sending the creature off balance and onto his stomach. While it was down, he leapt up and thrust the sword through the creatures back, straight through the stomach, point entering the ground. The creature went still, and with a final growl of defeat, dissipated into a cloud of purple and black smoke.

He paused, staying the position as he tried to comprehend what was happening. The creatures from his dream... here, in the real world? In his reality?

A shriek pierced through the air, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Lissa!" he exclaimed, turning to see the other beast was cornering her, axe raised.

She cowered with her back against a rock, staring up at the creature. She held her staff out in front of her, as if this would protect her. She looked up at the portal, noticing another figure leaping through it. She saw the figure of a young man leap through, landing rather gracefully then sprinting towards the beast. The beast roared, as if triumphant that it would get to kill her, thus snapping her back to attention. She then shut her eyes, awaiting the finishing blow.

She heard the clash of metal on metal, and wondered if the creature had hit her staff. She heard the strained grunts of a young man, and then slowly opened her eyes, gasping at seeing the man the fell from the sky was facing her, sword behind his back, fending off the axe. His face was covered with a mask that, strangely, resembled a butterfly, though he looked to be struggling. He turned his head to the side, and saw Chrom.

"Help!" he shouted out. Chrom nodded.

"Right!" he said, running forward, letting out a war cry. This caught the attention of the beast, whom turned his attention to Chrom. The young man saw the opportunity, and thrust his sword upward, sending the monster back. Then, with expert swordsmanship, he swung the sword around just as Chrom slashed through it, both swords slicing through the beast.

Like the first beast, it seemed to freeze for a moment, then it disappeared in a puff of black and purple smoke with a defeated groan.

"Quite an entrance." Chrom said as he sheathed Falchion, turning to the young man. "What's your name?" The young man glanced over his shoulder at the both of them, then the earth shook again, another eye opening in the sky. The trio seemed to reach an agreement to meet up and talk later, then sprinted in different directions.

o.0.o.0.o

**Ugh, I found the stuff about Laguz and Taguels to be very confusing. While they are essentially the same thing, Panne even mentioning Laguz as Taguels in support conversations, I figure this: Laguz and Taguels are, in fact, a part of the same species; shapeshifters. Taguels require 'Beaststones' for some reason rather than simply transforming on there own like Laguz. So I think that the term 'Taguel' essentially means 'Rabbit Laguz'. Since Panne and Yarne are the only two Taguels left in existence, both transforming into rabbits, it is not proven otherwise wether or not Taguels have other shapehifting forms.**

**So, I think that Taguels are a special 'Rabbit-Laguz' exclusive to the country of Ylisse until they were practically eliminated by a genocide.**

**If I just confused you, sorry!**

**Amy47101 signing off! ^.^**


	4. Unwelcome Change: Part Two

o.0.o.0.o

_Chapter Four_

_An Unwelcome Change_

The earth rumbled around them.

At first, it was subtle, barely arousing Rosalie awake. She blinked a little bit, wiping some drool from the corner of her mouth as she sat up curiously. Shrugging it off, the rolled over and tried to fall back asleep.

Suddenly, the earth shook violently again, and a shriek cleft the air. Rosalie jumped up, scared and slightly confused, whipping her head around violently. She saw Demyan on the ground, and Sully frantically trying to strap on pieces of her armor while the earth trembled and shook. Her and Frederick's horse reared back in fear, and Virion was trying to regain his balance near a tree.

Another shriek cut through the air, over the quaking earth, and Frederick snapped his head up. He glanced around the camp sight quickly, and caught Rosalie's glance. He widened his eyes and he realized what she did.

Chrom and Lissa were not here.

Immediately, the knight grabbed his silver spear and hopped upon his brown steed, armorless, and sped off in the direction of the shrieks, despite the earthquake. Sully was cursing up a storm, strapping on the last piece of her armor despite the quakes. Rosalie was surprised by her quickness. Was she trained to put on armor in the middle of a catastrophe?

Just as suddenly as the earthquakes began, they stopped, and directly above them, a magic circle appeared. Rosalie was somewhat familiar with them, since she was, in fact, a magic user, but never saw one so large, or with such darkness filtering around the golden runes. In the center, a curved blue line. The four Shepherd's stared at it.

"Wha... What is it?" Demyan said in disbelief, asking the obvious. No one answered, just watching as the curved blue line snapped open like an eye, and something emerged from it, falling just a little bit in front of them. Now their attention was on that as it slowly rose up from the ground.

It was hunched over and gauntly thin, patches of skin stretching across it's body. Rags hung from it's hips, arms much to long for it's body, it's knuckles just barely brushing the ground. Its hands weren't really even hands, just mangled excuses for hands with sharp claws that could no doubt tear easily through flesh and muscle. It's legs seemed frail, like the may crack and break if it so much as tried to lift them. It's face wasn't even visible. Instead, it was covered by an executioners mask, mouth stitched up grimly, eye holes filled with a menacing red glow. What Rosalie found most terrifying, though, was that the head under executioners masked seemed to jerk back and forth uncontrollably, as if it was yearning to break free from it.

If this thing wasn't death come calling, Rosalie wasn't sure what was.

It stared at the four for a moment, before lifting it's long, gangly arms and, with a surprising amount of grace, began sinking underground. No one was sure what to do. They were unsure what this creature even was! There was a long, drawn out silence, when suddenly, Sully let out a scream.

The thing began pulling at her legs, trying to pull her underground. No one was sure what to do, so Virion took aim with his bow, and shot the thing straight through it's glowing red eye. It hissed, sinking back underground.

"Nice shot, Ruffles." Sully said, scrambling back and grabbing her spear. Virion smirked arrogantly.

"But of course! Leave war to the warriors, my dearest Sully!"

"War for the warriors, eh?" Sully responded. "Good thing I'm a cavalier." The creature came up in front of them. Rosalie took action.

"Everyone, _attack it now_!" she screamed. Demyan immediately responded by growing claws from his fingers and slashing through it. Sully gave the finishing blow by spearing the creature, watching in satisfaction as it let out a growl of defeat. It disappeared in a puff of of black and purple smoke, confirming what Rosalie originally thought.

They were dealing with dark magic, and judging by the sheer size of the circle in the sky, they weren't dealing with an average mage, or even an average dark mage, who cast a spell gone wrong. This was high level sorcery, something beyond what even a Sorcerer with high level of magic had. This had to be something cast by a god...

The earth shook again, knocking her out of her thoughts. Sully's horse reared back, terrified, and Sully made haste to get next to it and calm the white steed down. Rosalie looked up at the sky, catching a faint orange glow, curious to see if the sun was rising. Her guess couldn't have been further. Fireballs were falling down upon them, lava acting like rain. Frederick's armor rattled about, rolling this way and that as the earth trembled. Rosalie took note of this and widened her eyes.

Frederick, though proving his high amount of skill with his steed and lance, was unprotected without his armor. They were in the middle of countless earthquakes, fire balls, a rain of lava, and strange creatures risen by some ungodly dark magic. On top of that, she had no idea where Chrom and Lissa went off to. Lissa had no way to protect herself except her healing magic, which could only last so long. Chrom was indeed a good swordsman, but he was just that, a man.

Worry and dread fell into her stomach like ice. Was that Lissa screaming earlier? It had to be.

"Everyone, we need to catch up with Frederick and find Lissa and Chrom!" she ordered. "Lissa is our top priority right now. If she's separated from Chrom or Frederick, she's completely vulnerable. Make sure you have a good supply of elixir on hand and be cautious. We don't know what this new enemy can do. Sully, you go with Virion in the direction Frederick went. Demyan and I will try to track Lissa. We'll regroup here as quickly as possible. Move out!"

She wasn't sure what made them listen, maybe the fact that she was taking charge in a hour of complete chaos had something to do with it. But Sully obeyed, hopping onto her horse with Virion sitting behind her, then sped off in the direction where Frederick went. Rosalie turned to Demyan.

"I don't know much about the powers and abilities of the Laguz. Care to enlighten me?"

"I'll just make it brief, okay?" Demyan said as he bent over, placing his hands firmly on the ground, tail in the air. Suddenly, he glowed a golden light, becoming enveloped in it. Then, instead of a man in front of her, Rosalie was staring into the face of an amber-eyes, rather large, dark purple cat. "Hop on." he ordered, voice deeper and somewhat more gravelly than before. Rosalie followed orders, and was suddenly speeding through the night.

"So you can transform into a huge cat." Rosalie said.

"Cougar, to be precise." Demyan said, irritated. "I have intensified senses, even when I'm not transformed, and night vision. When my eyes are amber, you'll know I'm using my night vision. I'm naturally stronger and faster than the average human, but, in my case, I can't stay transformed for long periods of time."

"You have your limits."

"Of course." he said. "I'm stronger in my cougar form, but in my human form, not so much. When my body can't handle much more in my cougar form, I'll transform back, wether I want to or not."

"This is just you? Why?"

"Just 'cause." he answered. "Oh, and I should probably mention that when I get really angry, I'll loose control of my cougar form and transform and go on a murderous rampage. Again, my eyes will glow amber when this happens, so ya better knock me out before I wipe out half your army."

"Uh... Duly noted." she said.

"We're close to Chrom." he stated. "I think Lissa is with him and... someone else."

"Frederick?"

"No, not Frederick. Isn't Sully or Pansy-Pants either. Someone else." he said as he skidded to a stop in a clearing, just as more of the monsters came upon them and a male in a cape went to take care of some of them. Lissa screamed upon the sight of the cougar, and Chrom stood defensively.

"Chrom, stop!" Rosalie exclaimed, leaping off Demyan's back. "It's Demyan!" He furrowed his brow, and Lissa let out a sigh of relief.

"Milord! Milady!" Frederick exclaimed as he practically crashed into the clearing. "You're safe!"

"That young man saved me!" Lissa exclaimed, looking around. "Hey, where'd he go?"

"He went thattaway." Demyan nodded his head in the direction that he and Rosalie saw the young man go.

"The beast can talk?!" exclaimed Chrom.

"Of course!" Demyan said. "Remember? Demyan the Laguz?"

"We'll catch up to him later," Frederick said as they saw more of the horrid creatures making their way towards them. "After we put these... things... to the blade."

"Right!" Rosalie said, determined. "Frederick, I know you're wary to trust me, but please, let me guide you, okay?"

"Do you take me for a fool, Rosalie?" he asked.

"As of now, yes." Rosalie said. "You ran off in a panicked mess without your armor. I know that Chrom and Lissa are your top priority, but you left unprepared, ignorant of the problem, and left your comrades behind. From what I can tell, Chrom is handy with a sword, and judging by the scar I bare on my stomach, Lissa is no fool when it comes to healing magic." Frederick glared, and Rosalie kept her gaze steady. "I may not know your skill very well yet, but I know that without armor, you'll fall with one arrow." she said. Frederick turned his head to the side.

"You are correct." he said. "You may guide my sword."

"Thank you." Rosalie said, turning to the enemy. "From the one we fought back at the campsite, they sank underground and pop up to grab your legs and drag you underground, either to suffocate you or to make you an easier target, but I wouldn't put it past them to try to claw at you."

"We fought ones who wielded axes." Lissa piped up.

"Good to know. They have knowledge of our weapons. Mages?"

"Don't know." Chrom said.

"Alright." Rosalie said. "Frederick, allow Lissa on your horse, in case those underground ones come up and target Lissa. Demyan, how much longer can you stay in your cougar form?"

"A while now." Demyan said. "If I go back, I've still got my claws."

"Okay. Chrom, are you okay?"

"Little shaken up, but fine." he answered.

"Alright, the three of us will fight them. Hopefully Sully and Virion will catch up soon. Frederick, you protect Lissa and spear any of 'em if they get to close. Lissa, you heal anyone who gets hurt."

"Right!" Lissa said, clutching her staff.

"Here they come." Chrom said as the monster came forward.

"Lets go!" Rosalie ordered. Demyan immediately leapt forward, clamping his jaws around the nearest monster, then tearing it apart. It was a rather disgusting scene, but worked just as well in killing. Once completed, Demyan was still.

"Oh, GODS!" he exclaimed, shaking his head back and forth. "That's horrible! Absolutely horrible!"

"What is it?" Rosalie asked, blasting another creature with magic.

"The taste!" Demyan said. "Gods! It tastes like that burnt chicken that was left out in the sun for fourteen days I had to eat for punishment!" he gagged a little bit just thinking about it.

"Perhaps instead of worrying over your own discomfort," Frederick said, coming up next to him and spearing one of the creatures. "You should focus on the battle at hand!"

"Well, you try eating one of these things!" Demyan shot back, slashing through one with his claws. "Bear meat will taste like the finest cut in all of Ylisse!"

"Stop arguing!" Rosalie ordered. "It won't help our fight!" she slammed her crackling palm into the chest of one of the creatures, this one wielding a sword. She smirked triumphantly as it slumped forward, then frowned as she felt her hand sinking into the flesh. She gasped as the creature looked up at her, smirking as she tried to pull her hand free. She quickly muttered an incantation, waiting for the electricity to explode along her palm, then quickly became horrified at the delay. The creature raised its sword above its head, full intent to kill.

She let out an exclamation of shock as it's head suddenly fell while it's chest exploded from her electric attack. It's sword fell to the ground as it disappeared in a puff of smoke. She breathed heavily, looking at the hand that was stuck in it's body.

"Thank you." she said, looking up at Chrom. "Are these creature common in these lands?" she asked, letting out another burst of electricity,

"No, at least, not in Ylisse." Chrom said as he stabbed one. Rosalie looked across at Demyan and Frederick. Lissa was healing a wound on Demyan's side, while Frederick speared anything that dared to get to close. Once healed again, Demyan ran forward and slashed through one of the creatures.

"Captain Chrom!" Rosalie heard Sully exclaim. "Gods, I knew I shouldn't have left 'em! Alright, ya ugly things, who wants a taste of my spear first? I know the perfect place for it! Right up your-!" Sully stopped for a moment, letting out a war cry. Rosalie turned, and saw a spear go through the chest of an undead mage. Rosalie gulped at this. Not only did they know how to wield weapons, but they knew about magic as well. Regardless, she quickly scooped up the spell book. She flipped through the pages. This was wind magic, a little more powerful than her thunder magic. She looked at the cover, the runes rearranging themselves to English. _Elwind. _

"You guys okay?!" Rosalie shouted over the sounds of battle.

"Never better!" Sully said.

"We passed a young man as we came. He was killing some of the creatures!" Virion reported.

"That must've been the guy Lissa mentioned..." Rosalie mumbled. "Okay, Sully, Viron, stay together! Virion, when you can, try to shoot an arrow at the circle in the sky, see if it has any effect, okay?!"

"But of course!" Virion exclaimed, already notching an arrow on his bow. Rosalie scanned the Shepards as they fought, smiling slightly as she saw that the creatures falling quickly. She looked at they sky, seeing that the creatures seemed to have stopped falling from the magic circle. She glanced at the amount of enemies they had left. Demyan and Frederick had about ten creatures, while Sully and Virion had about seven or so.

"Chrom!" she exclaimed, coming up to him. "I think they're done coming from the sky! We need to find their leader!"

"What, like a zombie chief?" Chrom asked. Rosalie smirked, tucking some of her green hair behind her ears.

"Any look important?" she asked, scanning them. She widened her eyes as she saw one with long, dark, greasy-looking hair hanging back near some cracked earth, lava bubbling up around it. Rather than fighting, it watched the fight.

"You see it too?" Chrom asked.

"That's the one." she said. She glanced at him, and he glanced back, then both nodded, bursting forward, wielding their weapons.

"Milord!"

"Brother!"

The calls rang out in union, Frederick in surprise, Lissa in high-pitched fear. A couple monsters swarmed around them. Chrom swung his arm out, slashing through the middled of one of the beasts, killing it instantly while Rosalie let the power of the Elwind fly from her fingertips.

"Are you ready?" he asked. Rosalie smirked.

"Of course!" she exclaimed.

"On my mark!" Chrom exclaimed, rushing forward and catching the chief by surprise. It roared, pulling out its axe and blocking the attack. Chrom smirked, as if expecting this.

"Over here!" Rosalie exclaimed, allowing Chrom to jump back as she unleashed slashes of wind onto the creature. It whirled around, giving Chrom an opening to stab. Soon, it became blatantly obvious that the creature had no idea what to do when being attacked by separate people. As Rosalie attacked with magic, it would turn to attack her, but then Chrom would stab it, and then it would try to attack him. It was so pitiful that Rosalie almost cried for it.

"You're finished!" she exclaimed, unleashing the final round of wind, destroying the creature as it gargled out in defeat. Rosalie and Chrom looked at each other, and looked back to their comrades, still fighting against the last few creatures.

"Still got some fight left in you?" Chrom asked. Rosalie smirked.

"Of course!" Rosalie exclaimed. Both got ready to dash off again, when Chrom suddenly let out an exclamation of shock.

"Gods!" he exclaimed as Rosalie looked down, seeing two of the creatures holding onto his ankles, dragging him down and away from her.

"Chrom!" she yelled as she saw them successfully manage to drag him over the edge of the broken earth. She took a diving leap, just managing to grab his wrist. She looked down over the edge, saw that the creatures has let go of Chrom's ankles, falling, shrieking, into the fiery pit below. Rosalie felt sweat on her brow as she tried to pull him back up, Chrom scrambling while trying to avoid getting burned. She looked around frantically, glancing over her shoulder as she saw that everyone was still occupied with the remaining monsters, though Frederick was trying to rush to their aid.

She ground her teeth together, struggling to pull him up, her tome falling beside her. She looked at it, then widened her eyes.

"Chrom!" she exclaimed. "I'm going to send an Elwind under you to lift you up! Once you're on the ground, run! The wind will flare up the fire!" she glanced at the pages, screaming incantations, runes forming around her. She imagined the wind moving down and under Chrom, runes surrounding him and throwing him over her to safety. Chrom turned to help her up, but she pushed him back. Like she suspected, the the fire flared up dangerously, scorching her clothes and legs as she tried to scramble back.

"Damn!" Chrom exclaimed, grabbing her under the arms and dragging her back, away from the fiery pit but also a good way away from the fighting. "Lissa!"

"I'm fine!" Rosalie exclaimed, gritting her teeth trough the pain. "Keep fighting! We're almost done!" She took off her cloak, trying to beat out the flames that alit her pants and boots, successfully managing to put them out before she was wearing nothing but scorched rags. She winced as she slammed her hands on the burns, glancing at them. Healing magic or not, those were gonna leave some nasty, nasty scars.

"Aaaaaaaaand DONE!" Demyan exclaimed as the final creature fell in a puff of smoke. Lissa hurried over to Rosalie, immediately attending to her burns while Chrom stabbed his sword into the ground, sitting next to Rosalie.

"Looks like I owe you new clothes as well as a new sword." he said, between tired breaths.

"Yeah..." Rosalie said, sighing in relief as she felt the burns heal. Sully and Virion got off her horse while Frederick lead his steed to them. The two former fell where they stood, breathing heavily while Frederick stood tall, trying to hide his weariness. Demyan was laying down on his back, feet in the air. He glowed for a moment and then went back to his human form, legs and arms falling to his sides with a thump.

"I don't think I've ever been so tired after a fight." Sully said, hands propping the rest of her form up. "Damn." Rosalie nodded. The adrenaline was wearing off, now leaving the Shepherds confused and rather scared. What had they just fought? Was this a one time thing, or where they destined to see more of these in the future?

Footsteps approached them, and they all warily looked up. Chrom and Lissa recognized the young man immediately.

"You have no more reason to fear." he said. "I've taken care of the rest."

"You didn't answer my question earlier." Chrom said, standing up. "What's your name?"

"You may call me Marth." he answered.

"Marth?" Frederick asked. "After the hero-king of the old?"

"What you did back there was very brave." Lissa said, smiling. "Thank you."

"I am not here to talk about me." Marth said. "Your world now teeters on the edge of a terrible calamity. Tonight was only a prelude. You have been warned." with that, he turned and walked away. Sully did a double take, blinking, mouth agape.

"Our world teeters on what now?!" she exclaimed. Marth ignored them, and continued walking.

"Not much of a conversationalist, is he?" Rosalie asked. Chrom shut his eyes, chuckling.

"I'm sure his talents lie elsewhere." he said, turning to her. "Can you stand?"

"Just fine." she said.

"We should travel back to Ylissetol, make sure that the capitol wasn't affected or attacked." Frederick said.

No one argued.

o.0.o.0.o

**SO. Hope to get a review, please~! **

**Amy47101 signing off! ^.^**


	5. Shepherds

o.0.o.0.o

_Chapter Five_

_Shepherds_

The trip back to Ylissetol was deadly quiet. While exhaustion in the soldiers bodies begged them to rest for the remainder of the night, no one dared to close their eyes. For fear of residents and family in Ylissetol. For fear those monstrous creatures will appear again. For fear that they would have to fight another battle that they were in no way ready for. So they simply marched on in the darkness, silent, until the sun rose above the horizon.

No one said anything. They simply walked and walked, occasionally switching out for rides on Sully and Frederick's horses. The sun rose higher into the sky, and Rosalie glanced up from staring at her slightly burned boots and saw a city gated with high stone walls. She saw some people- upon closer look she realized that they were mostly women- atop pegasi, flying around the walls. Watchtowers rose up high, and she could just make out archers and lancers guarding them. They came upon a gate, which was guarded by some heavily armored units.

"Sir!" they said as they approached. The saluted to Chrom and almost immediately opened the gates. Rosalie was surprised by how easy it was, but then again, maybe they were well known soldiers in the city walls. Sully glanced around.

"Well, all seems fine here." she said. "Captain Chrom! I'm taking Ruffles and Demyan back to the Garrison! We'll meet you there!" Chrom raised his hand in a wave goodbye as Sully barked out orders to move out of her way. The people complied easily.

"Thank the Gods." Frederick sighed as he looked around from atop his horse. "It seems the capitol was spared the chaos we encountered. I see no evidence of the great quake."

"It must've been limited to the forest." Chrom said.

"Wow!" Rosalie exclaimed. "So this is Ylissetol. I'm not sure I've seen so many people!"

"Quite a bustling city, eh?" Chrom asked with a laugh as villagers bustled along them, trying to get to market stands. Rosalie smiled and nodded. Suddenly, an elderly man cried out.

"The Exalt has come to see us!" he exclaimed. Cheers erupted but the people respectfully kept their distance. Rosalie strained her neck to see over the commoners and the pegasus knights that guarded her. She saw a pretty young woman around twenty-five years old dressed in green sages robes and a golden crown around her head. She could see a mark similar to the one on Chrom's upper arm on her forehead, her golden blond hair curled and parted over her shoulders and around the birthmark like a curtain. Her blue eyes matched her smile as she raised her hand in a wave.

Rosalie was surprised. Not only by the fact that this leader was so young, but also by the fact that she was radiating peace and that she was guarded by only three knights. It was utterly amazing.

"The Exalt is your leader, correct? Isn't it dangerous for her to be walking among commoners with so little protection?" she asked curiously.

"The Exalt is the symbol of the halidom." Frederick said. "She makes this country proud."

"Emmeryn," Chrom said. Rosalie assumed that was the Exalts name. "Literally is peace!" He grinned. "She represent Ylisse's most prized quality."

"Long ago, at the start of our age," Frederick said. "The fell dragon, Grima, tried to destroy the world. But the first exalt joined forces with the divine dragon, Naga, and laid the beast low. Exalt Emmeryn reminds us of the peace we all fought for then."

"With Plegia poking at our borders, the people need her." Chrom said. "She's a calming presence when others might call for war."

"Then the Ylissean people are lucky to have her." Rosalie nodded.

"Plus she's the best big sister that anyone could ever ask for!" Lissa chimed in. Rosalie smiled.

"Yes I'm sure she-" she paused, the information sinking in. "Wait! S-Sister?! So that means that you... and Chrom...?"

"You remember milords name but not the fact that he and Lissa are the prince and princess of Ylissetol?" Frederick asked, shooting her a skeptical glance. She opened her mouth. If this guy says she's faking amnesia one more time-!

"You said you were Shepherds!" she exclaimed. Chrom laughed.

"We are, in a way." he said. "We just tend a _lot _of sheep!"

"But I-I've been so rude! Chrom! No, Sir Chrom! I apologize!" Rosalie said. "Please forgive my horrid manners, Sire!" Chrom rolled his eyes.

"I've never been one for formalities," he said, waving his hand dismissively.

"The prince and princess..." Rosalie trailed off. "I suppose that's why Frederick puts up with all the teasing, eh?"

"Indeed. The sacrifices I make for the good of the realm..." Frederick said. Chrom and Lissa widened their eyes.

"By gods, did he crack a joke?" Lissa asked.

"I thought he was incapable!" exclaimed Chrom. "But I think he did..." Frederick let out a sigh of irritation. Chrom quit chuckling, glanced over and saw that his sister was heading back to the palace. "Well, I owe you a sword and some clothes. I say since we're here, we get that out of the way. You can't go around meeting the Exalt in rags!" Rosalie pulled her cloak closer around her to hide the scorch marks on her pants. She blinked at that.

"The Exalt? I'm going to meet your leader?" she asked, sounding surprise..

"Once we get you some non-scorched clothes." Chrom laughed. "We have to talk to her to officially make you a Shepherd and tactician." he paused. "And I'm hoping that maybe someone reported you missing. She may know something about it."

"I see." Rosalie responded. Lissa bounded around her, grinning.

"Come on! There's this really great dress shop just around the corner! I'm sure you'll love it!" Rosalie opened her mouth in shock as Lissa grabbed her wrist and began dragging her across the market. Rosalie turned to Chrom, and mouthed a single word.

"_Dresses?!"_

o.0.o.0.o

"I still think you should've gotten the pink dress.." Lissa pouted as Rosalie glanced over the small selection of swords from a merchants stand. Rosalie furrowed her eyebrows, glancing down at the pants she wore that were practically the same as the one's she had before.

"I hate pink." Rosalie responded. Lissa fumed.

"How would you know?! You have no memories!" Rosalie turned her attention to some swords.

"No pink." she stated as she picked up an iron sword, weighing it in her palm. "I wish I could try some target practice with these. It would be so much easier to choose once I had the feel of it." she paused. "I think I'll get this one. I don't think my swordsmanship skills are quite ready for steel yet."

"Okay." Chrom said, coming forward with some coins. Rosalie furrowed her eyebrows again.

"Are you sure about buying me another sword? I can pay for it myself, you know." she said. Chrom rolled his eyes.

"You saved my life plus risked your own for Ylissean lives. I owe you more than a measly sword and some new clothes." he stated, smiling. Rosalie shook her head uncertainly, but allowed him to pay for the sword anyways. Taking the new sword and slipping it into the scabbard at her hip, she thanked the merchant and turned, looking to Chrom.

"Emmeryn should have headed back to the castle by now. You ready to meet her?" Chrom asked as Frederick led the way for him, Rosalie, and Lissa. Rosalie nervously tucked some hair behind her ears.

"No." she answered. "The mark," she lowered her voice. "On the back of my hand. You said it was bad in these lands?"

"Yes." Chrom said after a pause. "I would like to alert Emmeryn. Since we are still unknown of wether or not you willingly got it, I'm sure she will still allow you to become a Shepherd. I promise, this will stay strictly within the royal bloodline of the Exalts, meaning only myself, Lissa, and Emm." Rosalie found it strange that he didn't mention parents, but decided not to bring that up.

"So these 'Shepherds'." she stated. "Are they nice people?"

"Nice is a good word to describe it. You see, Shepherds are an elite army in Ylissetol. While we have knights and pegasus knights, only a select chosen few can join the Shepherds. They have extreme talent and ability that are beyond the normal soldier." Rosalie widened her eyes.

"Are you sure you want me to lead such a force?" she asked. "I mean, I could lead your elites to their deaths..." Chrom laughed at this.

"I highly doubt that, Rosalie." he said. "Come on, we don't want Frederick to leave us behind." Rosalie smirked at this.

"Somehow," she said. "I highly doubt that will happen."

o.0.o.0.o

"Welcome home," Emmeryn greeted Chrom and Lissa warmly. "Good day to you, too, Fredrick. I expect that the patrol went well?"

"We won't be having many bandit problems in Southtown for a while." Chrom chuckled.

"Wonderful. Thank you." Emmeryn said. "And our people?"

"Safe as can be, Emm, but we need to watch our borders. The brigands crossed over from Plegia."

"Forgive me, Milord." Rosalie looked to a woman with light blue hair pulled back into a tight bun. "My pegasus knights should have intercepted them."

"No, Phila, your duty was here, with the Exalt." Rosalie glanced at the woman again. Was she the captain of the pegasus knights?

"And besides," Lissa looked over her shoulder to Rosalie, smiling. "We had plenty of help."

"Ah, you speak of your new companion here?" Emmeryn asked, directing her attention to Rosalie.

"This is Rosalie." Chrom said, glancing over at her. "She fought bravely against our enemies, even going as far as to risk herself to save not only my own, but Lissa's life as well."

"It sounds as if Ylisse owes you a debt of gratitude, Rosalie." Emmeryn said with a gentle smile. Rosalie quickly shook her head.

"Not at all, Milady!" she exclaimed.

"Forgive me, your grace, but I must speak." Frederick said suddenly. "Rosalie claims to have lost her memory, but that is only that: a claim. We cannot rule out that she is a brigand herself, a Plegian spy, or even one of the fae."

"Frederick!" Chrom growled out. Emmeryn folded her hands in front of her.

"It is wrong to judge people on their appearances. I've noted the color of her hair and eyes, and yes, I may say that it is unusual, but there is always the rare possibility of a human to have green hair. If she was an Unseelie, she no doubt would've ripped Chrom and Lissa to shreds by now, memories or no memories." she paused. "I would like to speak on this matter with Chrom, Lissa, and Rosalie privately. Phila, you are dismissed. Frederick, please go to the garrison. I believe Sully reported some new recruits that needed training."

"Of course," Frederick said, bowing his head in respect. Phila also bowed, and both exited the room. There was a pause as Emmeryn turned her gaze back to the trio in front of her.

"What is it you want to tell me, Chrom? I can see it in your eyes."

"Rosalie, remove your gloves." Chrom said. Rosalie flinched slightly, but slowly slipped the gloves off her hands. "You see, we found Rosalie unconscious, in a field. On her right hand is the mark of Grima."

"We think she might've been dragged over and branded as an example!" Lissa chimed in. Emmeryn turned to Rosalie.

"Regardless," Chrom said. "I want to make her a Shepherd. She has magical abilities plus great swordsmanship. She also seems to be a master tactician. She knows her way around the battlefield, and is willing to risk her own life and limb for her comrades." he turned to look at her. "Trust me, as I stated before, she saved me herself."

"Let me see your hand." Emmeryn said softly, holding out her own. Rosalie slowly lifted her own until her palm rested in the Exalts. Emmeryn looked over the mark, taking in everything of the strange tattoo and the skin around it. "Thankfully, I do not think this was applied recently, if at all." Emmeryn said. "If she were branded, the skin around the mark would've been scared by burns." she paused. "In fact, I'm unsure if this is a brand, or even a tattoo to begin with."

"So what is it?" Rosalie asked. Emmeryn glanced up at her.

"I think it may be a birthmark, like the Mark of the Exalt." Rosalie furrowed her brow.

"You mean the thing on Chrom's arm? And on your forehead?"

"Precisely." Emmeryn said. "But still, it is a Grimleal mark. Yet you allowed her into the castle, Chrom, and you trust her to lead our elite soldiers to victory. Does this woman have your trust?"

"Yes." Chrom said confidently. "She risked her life for our people. Mark or no mark, that's good enough for me."

"Well, then, Rosalie..." Emmeryn said, letting go of Rosalie's hand and smiling gently. "It seems you have earned Chrom's faith, and as such you have earned mine as well."

"Oh! Milady." Rosalie said.

"Be sure to thank Frederick for his prudence. You two are surely blessed to have such a tireless guard. Be sure to express your thanks from time to time."

"Oh, we do!" Lissa said, smiling. "And we will!"

"Anyways," Chrom said. "I'm sure you've heard of the deathly creatures we've encountered, yes?"

"Yes, Chrom, they've been sighted all across Ylisse." Emmeryn responded. "We're about to hold council. I was hoping you would join us.

"Of course." Chrom said, turning to Lissa. "I'll see you back at the garrison."

"I think that's our cue, Rosalie!" Lissa said. "C'mon, I want to you to meet the other Shepherds!"

o.0.o.0.o

Lissa lead the way to the garrison, located a small walk from the palace. Rosalie glanced about her, and saw a few people training with weapons on a training field while Frederick ordered them around quite relentlessly. She was Virion and Demyan, and while the former looked absolutely miserable, Demyan seemed just fine going about the routine.

"So the Shepherds are an elite group, correct?" Rosalie asked. Lissa nodded.

"Yep!" she said. "We're talking the really skilled people, or those with special talents. It's no easy task becoming a part of the Shepherds! And besides, most people can't even make it through Frederick's training." Rosalie glanced over at the great knight still training Virion and Demyan.

"Duly noted." Rosalie responded. "So how many people are in the Shepherds?"

"Well, lets see... There's Chrom, of course. He's our leader. Fredrick, myself, Sully, Virion, and Demyan," she paused. "Vaike, he's a fighter. Stahl, he's also a cavalier, Sumia, who is pretty skilled with a lance, so I think she's going to become a Cavalier as well."

"She has no class?"

"Not of yet. She joined recently due to her ability to wield the lance and her surprising ability to communicate with animals." Lissa paused. "Hm... Maribelle. She's a troubadour and my best friend." Lissa smiled. "Kellam, but he has this really weird ability to just disappear then reappear out of no where."

"Is he a mage?" Rosalie asked, widening her eyes in surprise.

"No! He's a knight! So if someone suddenly appears out of no where, know it's Kellam." she paused. "And then Miriel and Ricken, our two mages."

"Ah, Miriel..." Rosalie trailed off. "I kinda took her tactician job." Lissa waved her hand dismissively.

"I think she'll be fine. She was never much into leading the troops, and when she tried, we couldn't understand half of what she said so we ended up becoming a huge, horrible mess!" Lissa laughed. "Besides, she'd much rather be reading in the library or organizing the inventory or something of the sort." Lissa said, stopping at a door. "Speaking of which, this is the Garrisons library. I don't go in there much, but I know it's a lot smaller than the Royal library, but I'm sure you'll be allowed access to all those books as well. Like I said before, Miriel will spend most of her time here. She's crazy smart. I think you might like her!"

Lissa lead her around, showing her the cafeteria, where cooks were in the midst of cooking dinner, and their inventory, which was slightly understocked.

"You'll need to stock up a little." Rosalie mused. "There's barely anything in here!"

"Oh, I think that Chrom ordered to pack up some supplies for a march. No idea where we're going though!" Lissa grinned. There was a small silence from Rosalie as Lissa showed her the barracks, then backtracked so she could meet some of the other Shepherds.

"So what do the Shepherds do anyways? What makes them-"

"You mean 'us'. You're a Shepherd too, remember!"

"What makes us so much more important that we're elites? What do we do that normal soldiers or pegasus knights can't handle?"

"Well, like I said, we are people with extraordinary powers and abilities. Usually, our pegasus knights are strictly on patrol of the outer boarders of Ylissetol while our soldiers are sent to take care of pesky brigands. Shepherds, however, travel on expeditions and help people all across Ylisse. We're sent on patrols and help our soldiers when they need it, sometimes even into other nations! If there is ever a war, we're sent out first to battle. It's all super exciting, and I'm happy to be a part of it!"

"Except the bear meat and the bugs." Rosalie smirked. Lissa nodded in response.

"Except the bear meat and the bugs." she confirmed.

"So I'm assuming we'll be sent to fight those strange creatures as well?" Rosalie asked. Lissa smiled.

"Most likely!" Lissa exclaimed. "I'm not very useful, though." She frowned at this. "I'm vulnerable to attacks and because of that, I mostly have to stay back and heal people."

"Maybe we could research what you could reclass as or what you can handle." Rosalie mused. "A cleric is always useful due to their healing abilities, but I'm wondering if we reclass you if you could be more useful on the battlefield, if that's what you want."

"Of course!" Lissa grinned. She stopped in front of a door, grinning. "This room is dubbed 'The Strategy Room'. It's where everyone mostly meats up when we're about to start a march, battle, or sometimes we just hang out here for the fun of it." she grinned. "Wanna go inside?" Rosalie smiled slightly.

"Of course!" she exclaimed. Lissa opened the door, and upon opening it, she saw three figures. One was a male, whom, judging by his attire, was a fighter. In the back of the room was a young woman around Lissa's age, blond hair curled to perfection. She sat with her arms crossed, tapping her foot impatiently, as if waiting for something. Finally, there was a woman close to her own age with light brown hair wearing what Rosalie thought was similar to a Pegasus Knights uniform. Lissa bounded in, grinning. "Hey everyone!" she exclaimed.

"Lissa, my treasure!" exclaimed the blond girl in the back, jogging up to Lissa. "Are you alright? I've been on pins and needles!"

"Huh?" Lissa turned to her and grinned. "Oh, hey Maribelle!"

"Don't 'Oh hey' me! I've sprouted fourteen gray hairs, fretting over you!" Maribelle exclaimed back. Lissa simply laughed.

"Aw, you worry to much! I can handle a battle or two!" Lissa paused, taking her chin in her hand thoughtfully. "Though I could do without the bugs and the bear barbecue."

"Hey squirt!" the man reached out and ruffled Lissa's hair, messing up her pigtails. "So where's Chrom, eh? Bet he had a hard time without 'ole Teach and his trusty axe."

"Oh, so you're Teach now, Vaike?" Lissa giggled slightly. "And here I thought people were born lacking wits. It can be taught?"

"Never underestimate the Vaike!" Vaike exclaimed. Rosalie blinked.

"Uh... Vaike?" she spoke up. "I think..."

"Give him a minute." Lissa said.

"Wait..." Vaike said slowly. "HEY!" Lissa burst into giggles as realization hit him. "No one insults the Vaike! The Vaike will have revenge!" he laughed. Rosalie laughed a little as well as Vaike began to chase Lissa around the room.

"Beg pardon, Lissa," the brunette woman said. "But might we see the Captain?"

"Poor Sumia, she's simply been beside herself with worry." Maribelle said, turning to the woman. "Her eyes were scanning the horizon all day during training... I swear to Naga, she would have gotten less bruises fighting blindfolded."

"Aw, Sumia. It's so sweet of you to worry about Chrom." Lissa stated.

"Worry? Well, he's our captain and our prince... It's only natural to worry!"

"So who's the stranger?" Vaike asked, turning to Rosalie.

"No one's stranger than you, Vaike." Lissa said. "But anyways, allow me to introduce Rosalie! She just joined the Shepherds. She knows magic, can wield a sword, and is crazy good at battle strategy!" Lissa said. "Soooooo, Chrom made her our new tactician! You should see all the tricks she has up her sleeve!"

"Oh, yeah?" Vaike said, studying Rosalie's face. "Can she do this?" he let out a long, loud burp. Rosalie laughed at this as Vaike grinned proudly.

"I'm sure I have much to learn in the belching arts, Teach." Rosalie stated, deciding to humor him.

"Ugh, Vaike, that was abhorrent!" Maribelle exclaimed, scoffing. "Must you baseborn oafs pollute even the air with your buffoonery?"

"Uh..." Rosalie stated, unsure how she should respond.

"And you, Rosalie!" Maribelle exclaimed, turning her wrath to the tactician. "Don't encourage him!" her face fell to a grimace. "I'd hoped you were cut of finer cloth. Obviously, my hopes were set much to high." she scoffed again, and turned, stalking away in a huff.

"... Sorry?" Rosalie exclaimed after her, hoping not to make a bad impression on any of the Shepherds.

"Don't take it personally, Rosalie." Sumia smiled. "Maribelle just warms to people slowly."

"Or burns to quickly!" Lissa laughed. "I'm sure that, sooner or later, you'll be discussing your favorite brand of tea and laughing like old friends!"

"I see..." Rosalie mused, highly doubting that she and Maribelle would be best friends any time soon. "In any case," Rosalie said, clapping her hands together. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintances!"

o.0.o.0.o

"...And thus, we have a small shortage of crops this year, but I do not believe that it will do much to affect the overall populous or economy, but I can't help but worry..." a duchess from the south mused. Chrom let out a low sigh of boredom and irritation. For nearly two hours he had sat there, in the same, stiff, uncomfortable chair, listening to dukes and duchesses of various lands talk about crops and economy and rowdy brigands. Not once had the topic of the undead mean arose.

As the topics of this conversation, he already knew where this would eventually lead. First it was crops, then the economy, then the topic of warfare and attacks from Plegia. After that came the welfare of the soldiers and Pegasus Knights, then the newest recruits to the Shepherds, and then the welfare of the people all across Ylisse. Finally, and this part he dreaded, was the topic of marriage.

So far, the youngest nobles, Lissa of Ylisse and Maribelle of Themis, had grown from small girls to young women. Fifteen and sixteen respectively, they were young women who should be courting in future years to come. Chrom knew, of course, that the people grew restless. Now that the youngest were of age, he knew they were expecting a new prince or princess to be born for them to ooh and ah over.

Of course, all eyes constantly turned to him or Emmeryn. He knew that Emmeryn was much to involved with the people and her country to marry, even though she thought of it. But every time she tried to arrange a meeting with a suitor to discuss marriage, something came up that she had to attend to before anything else-mostly involving the people- or he flat out refused to give the man his blessing in asking her hand in marriage.

Besides, he honestly believe that Emmeryn didn't want to marry simply for her own happiness, but to bring happiness to her people. He wouldn't allow Lissa to marry- at least not yet, with her being so young- so he knew the responsibility fell to him.

The biggest problem was, thus far, was finding someone to marry.

He knew there were plenty of women in the realm who would drop dead to marry him. After all, he was the prince of Ylissetol, leader of the Shepherds, hero to all. He had everything that every other man would envy. But he also knew that a woman who loved a man for his status was not going to end in a happy relationship. What he wanted, of course, was a happy relationship with a happy family. He wanted to set an example.

At nineteen, he knew should've married, or at least thought of it, three years prior. But he supposed he just ignored the simple fact until now, when, at these constant meetings, the Duke of Themis tried to court him with Maribelle. While he was familiar with Maribelle, he wasn't quite sure he could imagine building a family with her. She was, after all, a Shepherd. A brother, or in this case, sister, in arms.

Nobles chattered on, and he knew what was coming.

"So, have you thought of marriage yet, Sir Chrom?" Hemming asked. Chrom let out a low groan.

"Tell me, Sir Hemming, is this a tradition?" Chrom asked. "Constantly teasing me about courting and marriage?"

"All I am asking is how you fare with my daughter!" the Duke of Themis exclaimed, raising his hands in mock surrender.

"Always, down this route." Chrom muttered quietly. "Have we not talked about the new creatures yet?"

"Ah, yes, the Risen." Duke Sirus said, folding his hands. "They've been sighted all around Ylisse. Thankfully for us, they seem rather loud in their entrance, mostly screaming and shrieking before unleashing their assault. They come with storms that yield no rain, and only death, raising the dead from their graves, bringing dead soldiers back to life."

"Poor, Sirus, he went through four attacks just last night and early this morning." Duchess Marina said.

"We saw them originate." Chrom stated. "They came from a magic circle, a rather large and powerful one at that. Has anyone else reported such things?"

"Only a little past Southtown, but otherwise, no." Duchess Marina stated. "They seem to attack at random. No one can predict when they will come next."

"Thankfully, they also seem to have no strategy or idea of how to fight." Chrom said. "While some of them seem knowledgeable on how to use a weapon, it was blatantly obvious to me and my Shepherds that they have three main focuses." he held up one finger. "One, find a target," he held up his second finger. "Two, charge," he held up his third finger. "Three, attack. After that, there's no rhyme or reason to what they do. Even a simple, untrained farmer with a sickle could defeat them."

"But our main problem is that they attack in large numbers." Duke Sirus stated. "At least five villages within the vicinity of Southtown has been attacked. All except The Farfort island village."

"But Farfort has it's own problems." another duchess, Duchess Azyrnne, stated. "I've heard rumors that, recently, Plegian brigands have been loitering around the shores to the Farfort. I've tried sending soldiers, but many of them came back severely injured and most of them never even came back at all."

"The brigand attacks have been more violent as of yet..." Duke Hemming trailed off.

"What I fear, though," Emmeryn said, folding her hands. "Is that Farfort may be next. I am unsure if they can swim or not, but I also have fears of what will happen if the Risen managed to get to Farfort. Wether Risen or brigands, they are but simple farmfolk, unskilled in fighting." she turned to Chrom. "I want not our innocent farmers mercilessly slaughtered. I want you to take some of our Shepherds, and fend off the brigands and any Risen you encounter on the way."

"Of course." Chrom said. Emmeryn turned to the other council members.

"Keep your soldiers on high alert for the Risen and make sure our borders are secure to avoid problems with Plegia. With that, I announce this council meeting dismissed."

o.0.o.0.o

**So, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Now I'm really tired, so i'm going to go to sleep once I post this.**

**Amy47101 signing off! ^.^**


	6. Bound in Books

o.0.o.0.o

_Chapter Six_

_Bound in Books_

Chrom and Emmeryn walked side by side for a moment, neither saying a thing, both musing over their own personal opinions of the meeting.

"Chrom," Emmeryn said, stopping suddenly. Chrom paused as well, looking over his shoulder.

"Yes, Emm?" he asked in response. Emmeryn had her hands folded in front of her, twiddling her thumbs, a nervous habit that she had whenever she withheld a secret from him or Lissa. "Emm?" he asked again. "What's wrong?"

"Sir Hemming and I have been discussing marriage." Emmeryn said, looking down. "He is insistent upon you being wed to Maribelle." Chrom let out a low groan of protest.

"When will he understand that I don't feel that way about her?" Chrom asked to no one in particular. "I mean, I may as well marry Lissa and commit incest."

"I understand, Chrom." Emmeryn sighed, shifting her gaze to the window. "But you have to also understand that it is rare for nobility to marry out of love. First nobility marries, then they fall in love. We should be considered lucky that the arranged marriages we had died with father. On top of that, rumors fly quickly." she smiled slightly, trying to lift the serious tension. "We wouldn't want farmers whispering about how Chrom, Prince of Ylisse, was interested in men rather than women, correct?" Chrom opened his mouth slightly in shock.

"You know that's no where close to the reasoning why I haven't married yet." he muttered. Emmeryn smiled.

"I know, Chrom. But as you know, people are desperate for a new prince or princess, duke or duchess. Sadly, the children of the previous generation has outgrown their 'cute' years, and many of the royalty have grown to old to bear children any longer. Now reaching the ages of adulthood, it is expected that we begin to bring the new heirs into the world." she paused, looking out a window. "Sir Hemming wants to wed you and Maribelle quickly-"

"Are you suggesting an arranged marriage? Just after that speech saying how we are blessed to _not _have arranged marriages?" Chrom asked. Emmeryn furrowed her brow.

"No, not exactly." she turned to him. "I have convinced Sir Hemming that we should give you both at least a year before officially wedding you."

"A year? A year to do what?"

"To find someone else whom you would wish to marry." Emmeryn said. Chrom nearly choked on his own words. He knew he could not blame his sister for this, but a year was nearly impossible!

"Emm," he said slowly. "I'm the Captain of the Shepherds. I have people to lead and Risen to fight. On top of the Risen, Plegia is poking dangerously close to our borders again. A year is barely enough time to fight a war, let alone find a woman, propose, and marry her during those times. You know just as well as I do that Plegia and Ylissetol are dangerously close to beginning a full-fledged war. As Captain, I can't afford to waste my time chasing skirts."

"I never said you had to flirt with every woman you see, Chrom." Emmeryn said. "Perhaps there is someone else in the Shepherds whom holds your interest." she paused, looking up at a tapestry as they passed. "But if you so wish not to marry so soon, I'll marry one of the neighboring dukes in your steed. That way, you won't have to be wed to Maribelle and-"

"No." Chrom said, cutting her off. "You don't want to get married, right? You shouldn't force yourself into things for another's gain. I'll agree to Sir Hemmings terms, although..." he trailed off, looking up at the same tapestry. "I don't know if Maribelle will be so compliant. She can be quite hotheaded at times." A laugh came from Emmeryns lips as she continued to study the tapestry.

"Chrom, do you know what this tapestry depicts?" Emmeryn asked, changing the subject to a much more easy-going topic. Chrom looked up at it again.

It showed a beautiful woman standing atop stone steps, long, pale blond hair falling past her ankles and pooling around her feet. She wore mostly blue, a top wrapped around her chest, a long blue skirt falling to her ankles, and a transparent light blue cloth falling from the hem of her shirt to just above the hem of her skirt, accented with golden swirls at the bottom. The same transparent cloth made up sleeves that fell to her wrists, slits going up to her elbows so that her arms could move more freely. A golden band wound around the top of her shirt while another golden band wound around her waist, above the skirt. Little golden beads fell gracefully from a single strong on her hips, and a golden band wound around her forehead. Pinned to the back of her head was a five pronged crown.

From her back sprouted beautiful royal blue butterfly wings. To her chest she held a necklace, and with her other hand, it rested upon the head of a blue haired man, whom bowed respectfully to the woman. Around them was nothing but the night sky and the stars, the Mark of the Exalt glowing brightly in the sky, golden.

"It's the depiction on the Hero-King Marth and the contract he made with the Queen of the Seelie Court, Queen Titania." Emmeryn said. "This has always been one of my favorite pieces of art in the entire realm. The fae are supposedly very beautiful, and by being of Exalted Blood, we and the Seelie Court are bound by the Golden Contract." she smiled. "But whomever managed to capture Queen Titania's beauty in this art..."

"The artist must be truly talented." Chrom mused.

"No one has seen a fairy for over five hundred years. I've heard rumors of them being spotted, but they rumors could never be confirmed with sufficient evidence." Emmeryn sighed happily. "I've always wanted to meet and talk with a fae. Supposedly, as long as Titania and those of the royal line of the Seelie Court are alive, then so is the Golden Contract between them and those of Exalted Blood and vice-versa. But it was never said that the Queen ever had any children. Supposedly, her husband, King Oberon, died when at conflict with the Unseelie Court."

"Then I suppose the contract would be broken." Chrom mused. "No one could live that long."

"Ah, but let us not forget about the fated manakete. They are said to live for thousands of years, and never age due to being direct decedents of Naga. The legend says that the fae began simply as human souls, handpicked by Naga and Grima to become fae, thus becoming the Seelie Court, messengers of Naga, and the Unseelie Court, messengers of Grima." she paused. "There are many mysterious creatures in this world, many with abilities we cannot even fathom. How can we say that the Queen Titania is not still alive?"

"True, I suppose." Chrom said. "But I've only heard myths and legends of the fae. How could we know if they even exist if no one has ever gotten a clear glimpse at them for hundreds of years?" Emmeryn smiled.

"You sound like Miriel." Emmeryn said. "I can always remember her walking into the library to do research for the next march. She would come in to look at our atlas's and history books, but find me sitting in a chair, reading about some whimsical fairy tail or another, and begin scolding me. "Miss Exalt, you mustn't read such nonsensical legends. You are of the Exalted blood. Wouldn't it be more imperative to read about the history of our country's politics?"." she smiled, turning to look at her younger brother. "Then I would say, "Miriel, I know you have my best interest at heart, but I enjoy these fairy tails. You should try them sometime." She said she would, but I'm sure she never has. To busy with organizing the library, I'm sure."

"Speaking of the library," Chrom said, moving his eyes from the intricate design of the tapestry in front of him. "I was wondering something about the family records and history. This may sound silly, but I had a strange dream the night the Risen first attacked. A little before the earthquake, I dreamt that Risen were attacking the castle. Apparently, they were searching for a certain woman, a princess, in fact. Initially, I thought it was Lissa, because, currently, she is the only princess in Ylisstol. They were slaughtering everyone and everything in sight to find her. I suppose one of them attacked her friend, because a blue-haired woman suddenly leapt out, exclaiming that she was the woman they were after, then killing the monster that had pinned her friend."

"I see. Did you get a name?" Emmeryn asked.

"Lucina, I think?"

"Tell me, did this friend resemble Lissa or even myself? Anyone that you knew?"

"Well, she was blond, but otherwise, no. Completely different features... _and _personality." he paused. "I believe Lucina called her Noire."

"Hm." Emmeryn mused. "Well, initially, I thought that maybe this was your subconscious bringing up a dream to protect us from danger."

"Yes, but why would I dream myself of a princess named Lucina?" Chrom asked, frowning slightly.

"As far as I know, the Risen have never attacked before, anywhere." she paused. "Maybe 'Lucina' is one of our distant relatives that has passed on. I have never heard of her, so maybe you should check our family records."

"But what about the Risen? Why would they be there is the first time anyone has ever encountered them was just the other night?"

"Supposedly, they were brought on by a powerful magic spell." Emmeryn said. "Maybe that affected the dream and turned human soldiers into the terrifying Risen?"

"I suppose..." Chrom mumbled. Emmeryn smiled.

"You are not the only one having strange dreams, Chrom." Emmeryn stated. "Just the other night, the night that the Risen appeared, in fact, I had a rather confusing dream. First, it started with a strange blue light, trailing gracefully through the clear skies of Ylisstol. Suddenly, it parted through the clouds and wound happily around the realm, as if dancing upon some joyous occasion. The blue light suddenly left the city, and went into a darker area. The light surrounded a fragile looking butterfly as it fluttered to the ground." she paused, frowning.

"Suddenly, a soldiers boot nearly trampled the butterfly. Thankfully, it escaped, flying in between the legs of Ylissean soldiers as they marched to battle. Darkness surrounded them, and they were suddenly attacked by dark knights and archers, all with ominous red eyes, glowing darkly through their helmets. Soldiers fell as magic fell on them, arrows pierced their skin, and swords cut them down.

"Almost instantly, the butterfly was flying through the remains of a burning town. It was almost nothing but smoldering ash. There were several tendrils of dark violet light were trying to wind themselves around the blue light. I could see the butterfly was trying to help it... flying in between the dark tendrils to get closer to the blue light. Suddenly, it all faded to darkness, and for the briefest moment, I saw a menacing beast of a dragon, eyes glowing red, purple magic and darkness spewing from his mouth. As the attack fell, everything went black."

By now, Chrom saw her eyes glaze over slightly as she pulled up the memories of the dream, continuing to describe the events.

"Slowly, the darkness lifted, showing a young man running in slow motion through a building with smoldering pieces of wood scattered throughout. He was going towards a doorway, lit up with the most beautiful light. I could see other figures through the door, and a young man and woman- twins, I guessed, since they looked so strikingly similar- were waiting for him at the doorway, cheering him on as they fell through the light. With a few quick strides, he too, went through the doorway.

"Suddenly, the world was lit with a blue, and I saw you, Chrom, slashing down with the Falchion. I realized you were fighting the strange young man I saw go through the glowing doorway. The streak of blue light circled around you two, the butterfly lingering to fly around with the blue light, then both burst up towards a magic circle, golden, and figures falling from it. I supposed they were human, even figures upon mounts!

"Then I was showed an image of myself, standing atop a high peak of sorts. It was a great height off the ground, and I was looking down at a battle going on. I had my hands folded to my chest, and I was crying. The blue light circled around me as my tears fell, and as if they fell through the clouds, the blue light and the butterfly followed, showing you again, Chrom, waving happily to our subjects as a woman wearing a cloak pinned at her neck stood next to you.

"A little girl held onto your pantaloons affectionately, looking at you with total admiration, while the woman, with her cowl up so that I could not see her face, was cradled a small baby while you cradled another. The light circled the two of you as you lowered your arm, as if there was nothing more in the world but you and your family, and you both looked down at your small children. You then took the woman's hand, nodding towards her as if she held your fate in her hands.

"The happy image disappeared, showing you with the young man I saw running through the light, the twins waiting for him, and the woman, with her cowl still up, wielding your weapons bravely against the same beast I saw earlier in my dream. Oddly, I thought that you were the same family, even though you and the woman looked almost exactly the same age as when holding the infants previously.

"The blue light wound itself around the dragon as it reared it's head back, screeching in anger, and I saw you get attacked. You were down while the other three tended to you. While that happened, the woman burst forward ahead of you. Faintly, I saw a darkened figure near the dragon, and she attacked it. It fell, and with a shriek of rage, disappeared. Like that, the dragon fell, fizzling away like a spell.

"You thought it was over. You were prepared to celebrate your victory, when suddenly, the woman fell back. Faintly, I could see her feet beginning to turn into that same strange magic as the dragon. She, like the dragon, was disappearing. Almost immediately, the twins broke down, both sorrowful and weeping for the loss of the woman while the young man was shocked as he watched her feet disappear, then her calves.

"You were at her side in an instant, in complete denial as you shouted things like "It wasn't supposed to end this way!" and "I was meant to land the final hit!". Around you were faces of people familiar and unfamiliar, and judging by some of them, I supposed they were your Shepherds. Everyone was going through various stages of grief, some sobbing, some enraged, others, like you, in complete denial while some were trying to figure out ways to reverse the spell. But it was as if you all knew it was hopeless. The woman simply smiled, chuckling weakly under her breath as the rest of her legs disappeared.

"She gripped your hand, and spoke her final words: "Smile, my Shepherds, for the world is rid of it's darkness. Thank you for your acceptance and your support, for even though I have lost my past, I am happy to be able to replace it with the memories I made with you. Do not cry, Chrom, please do not cry and do not be sad with my decision. We both knew what would happen, and one life weighed against millions... I hope you can understand my choice." Then she smiled, letting out a content sigh. "Chrom... and all of you... may we meet again... in a better life.". Almost as if sensing her death, the small butterfly landed upon her gloved hand, and both suddenly burst into shimmering dark violet magic." she let out a deep breath as Chrom openly gawked at her. Emmeryn smiled, tapping his chin slightly.

"Close your mouth, Chrom, you'll catch flies." she said. Chrom closed his mouth, then opened it to speak.

"What happened next?" he asked. Emmeryn smiled.

"I woke up." she stated simply. Chrom crossed his arms.

"I feel as if I've been left on the edge of a good story. So that's how it ended? The woman died? But it didn't seem like a normal way to die... Maybe she survived? And if so, what happened to all these new Shepherds I heard about? And you... You're claiming I had three children with this woman!" Emmeryn simply shrugged.

"It was just a dream, Chrom. An interesting dream, but a dream all the same."

"I think the stress is getting to you, Emm." he said, raising an eyebrow. "That dream wasn't just 'interesting' it was absolutely insane." Emmeryn smiled, a flash of wittiness going through her eyes.

"Says the man whom dreamt of himself as a woman named Lucina?"

"I'm telling you, it is _not _like that!" Chrom exclaimed. Emmeryn laughed.

"Only a jest, brother. Though you should look through the family records. It may serve you well. Perhaps you'll even find some information about this 'Lucina' person."

"I'll have to announce and choose some Shepherds for the march to Farfort." Chrom said. "Then I'll head to the library."

o.0.o.0.o

Rosalie poured her heart and soul into the books she found in the royal library. There was so much information to know, she was utterly shocked that she managed to forget it all! Her eyes kept scanning the words, and when she finished one book, she moved onto the next, separating books into piles of those on the different creatures of Ylisse, those that would be useful to study, those on history of anything or everything, and those which she just simply enjoyed reading and wouldn't mind reading again.

She read legends and myths about the Hero-King Marth, studied the lifestyle and history of the Laguz, and delved into books on tactical strategy. With the small pieces of paper which she scribbled notes.

"Hey, Rosalie." she blinked, glancing up, internally wincing as she felt her stiff neck and back muscles move after being still for so long. She saw Chrom standing in front of her, grinning slightly. "How long have you been sitting here?"

"Mm... A long time? I'm not quite sure, I'm pretty sure Miriel left, though."

"You outlasted Miriel? Amazing!" Chrom laughed, glancing over all the books spread across the table. He picked up a random piece of paper, seeing some information on Laguz's battle tactics written down. His eyes travelled across the books laid out neatly in even stacks and while small scribbles of her handwriting fell on pieces of paper. Chrom chuckled. "You should have asked for a journal while we were in the market today."

"I didn't think that I'd be reading so much today. Besides, I've already freeloaded enough off your kindness and generosity. I'll earn my way to my own journal." Rosalie responded. "But thank you, anyways." She began gathering up her notes in a neat pile and tying them tight with a piece of twine she had. She stood, stretching her arms above her head and letting out a sigh as the stiffness in her back crackled away. "So why are you here?" she paused. "Well, perhaps that's a stupid question. You're here because this is your library and you want to read."

"Family records." Chrom responded, moving past her as she gathered up some books. He took an armful as well, and followed Rosalie around as she began putting the books back in their proper places. Chrom, hoping he was putting the books back correctly, put some on random places where there were empty spaces. He knew that he was probably ruining Miriel's perfectly organized library, but he also knew that this would give the mage something to do in her spare time.

"Family records?" Rosalie mused. "What for?"

"A strange dream I had. I just wanted to research a person I saw. I know it was just a dream, but something about it felt... off." he paused. "Just curious, I suppose."

"Ah, but haven't you ever heard that curiosity killed the cat?" Rosalie asked. Chrom shrugged.

"Then I feel bad for Demyan." Chrom responded. Rosalie opened her mouth, the chuckled slightly.

"Demyan the cat laguz. Nice one." she responded.

"Did the meeting with the Shepherds not go well? I would've thought you would have joined them for dinner. But rather, you isolated yourself to the library."

"Is it suppertime already? I haven't even noticed." Rosalie laughed. "The introductions went wonderfully. Vaike is hilariously good at belching, and Sumia is sweet. Kellam scared the living daylights out of me, and we briefly talked, but then he disappeared again. I still can't figure out what kind of magic that is, though. I ran into Stahl in the cafeteria, and I found him rather fun to talk to. I'm sad to say that, at that point, Miriel was showing me to the library, so I had to cut the conversation short. Miriel and I spent quite a while here in the library, and I briefly talked to Ricken. Speaking of which, he's rather young. What is he? twelve, maybe?"

"Ricken, oh, no, he's fourteen. Don't point out his height, though. He hates knowing that he's the youngest and shortest member in the army."

"Well, I suppose that's a little better. But fourteen..."

"It's alright. A majority of our current soldiers and Shepherds began training at fourteen. Ricken just excelled at magic. His talent is simply astounding. Our leading general insisted we make him a Shepherd. He's been training for a while, and so far, he survived Fredericks training."

"Good for him. I went through a brief stint of his training after Virion and Demyan." she shuddered. "He's relentless."

"I know." Chrom answered.

"And finally, Maribelle... ah, she doesn't like me that much. She 'hoped that I would be cut of finer cloth' but sadly for her, she realized that her hopes were set 'utterly to high'." Rosalie frowned at this.

"She'll warm up to you, I'm sure. Lissa has taken a liking to you, so sooner or later, Maribelle will as well."

"I certainly hope so. I want no feuds between myself and anyone else in the army. If an army fights within itself, it will collapse immediately, especially if the main target of feud is someone important, like a tactician." she frowned at this. "Speaking of which," she slid the final book in to the shelf with such a force that it hit the shelf with a dull thump. "Are you positive that you want me on your side? Absolutely sure? I've stated before that I want no conflict within our army, and I know that a tactician, a captain, and a lieutenant are three of the most important people in the army. I know that Frederick, the lieutenant, greatly distrusts me, the tactician, while you, the captain, has willingly trusted me with your life."

"So?"

"So in result, the lieutenant will distrust the tactician and argue with the captain. Sooner or later, the entire army will be in absolute turmoil."

"I doubt it." Chrom said. "Listen, Rosalie, I know I've said this before, but I'll say it again. Frederick is just protective. It's not something that neither you nor I can change. Eventually, he may trust you, but it will be a while. So for now, focus on building stronger bonds with other members of the army. Eventually, I'll convince him to trust you, but until then, just focus on strategy." Rosalie stared at him for a moment, then nodded.

"Alright, then." she said.

"Oh, and also," Chrom said. "We're having a march to the Farfort. I'm personally inviting you to come. Wake up early tomorrow, because, like you said, an army is nothing without it's tactician." Rosalie blinked, then beamed at this.

"I suppose I'll have to read up on the Farfort." Rosalie said, trailing her finger along the line of books, suddenly in a much brighter mood. Chrom watched in mild interest, continuing.

"I've selected a few soldiers, and Vaike and Lissa are going to spread the word to the other ones I've chosen."

"Oh, and who did you choose?" Rosalie asked, pulling out some books and heading back to her table.

"I had to choose only ten people. You're basically required, but other than you, Frederick, naturally, Vaike, Stahl, Miriel, Virion, Sully, Demyan, Sumia, and Lissa."

"So basically the entirety of the Shepherds." Rosalie mused. "Are you sure on Sumia, though? She has no direct class, so it'll be rather hard for me to work her into a strategy..."

"She's unsure of herself. I'm hoping that this mission, if successful, will give her a confidence boost she needs and deserves."Chrom stated, crossing his arms determinedly as Rosalie took a seat, flipping through the books. "I've been thinking, though." Chrom said. "Say Sumia was a Pegasus Knight? He ability to communicate with animals is astounding. I swear, she could have a dog foaming at the mouth on it's back, wagging it's tail, begging for a belly rub."

"Hm... That's not bad, actually. As far as I know, the Shepherds have no Pegasus Knight units. Having her attack from the sky with a lance would be rather useful as well, plus the area she is able to cover by sky would be much quicker than those by land." she paused. "Chrom, are there any spare pegasi available?"

"That's the problem." he sighed. "Pegasi are hard to come across in the wild. With our Pegasus Knights duties increasing with every day, I'm afraid to state we have no spare pegasi."

"I see." Rosalie mused. "Then perhaps for the time being she can just fight on foot with a lance, much like a knight or a general would, only quicker without all that heavy armor weighing her down." she blinked. "Aren't you going to search through your family records?"

"Hm? Oh, yes." Chrom chuckled. "I nearly forgot the reasoning as of why I'm here!" he traveled along the shelves, stopping at one out of Rosalie's line of vision. She herself ducked down in a book on Farfort. Chrom came back with a rather large stack of books, setting them down on the table, across from Rosalie. She glanced up. "Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all." Rosalie responded. Chrom smiled slightly, and brought out the first record, and began reading.

o.0.o.0.o

Chrom frowned slightly as he shut the final record of his family.

"How strange." he muttered. "Not one Lucina in the entire records."

"Lucina?" Rosalie asked, glancing up. "Is that the person whom you were looking for?"

"Yes. I could swear she was related to me in some way, but, according to these records, there is no one by the name of Lucina in our family."

"Hm... Lucina. That's a pretty name, y'know? It means "she who guides children to light"." Rosalie mused, drumming her fingers on the table. She paused for a moment. "Maybe you had a premonition?"

"You mean... like a vision from the future?"

"Sure. I mean, magic has to run through your family if your sister is a Cleric, right? Maybe you had a premonition of the future."

"Well, it was quite the ruinous future, then." Chrom said, leaning back in his chair. "Hopefully, it is nothing but a dream." he moved his gaze to the window, blinking as he saw a golden orange leak through the glass. "Gods, the sun is setting." Rosalie turned her head to the side, surprised.

"We've been reading that long?! People must be wondering where we are!" she smacked her palm to her forehead. "Some impression I'm making. I go an briefly introduce myself to everyone as the new tactician and then I disappear for the whole day."

"It's alright, everyone else did the same thing." Chrom laughed. "I remember when Sumia joined. She hid in the stables with the horses the whole day, tending to them. Frederick walked in, not expecting anyone to be there, and nearly had a heart attack when Sumia popped up from behind a bale of hay! I was laughing so hard that day." he paused. "Anyways, moral of the story is that everyone hides away on their first day. Tomorrow you'll be marching along the dirt paths to Farfort, leading our forces to victory!"

He smiled, standing up to put the family records away while Rosalie gathered up her notes, again, and began placing her own books back in their spots. She let out a sigh, and glanced at the book titled _The Geography of The Farfort. _

"So much confidence in a tactician he met but a day ago." she mumbled, shelving the book. "I can only hope his confidence is not wasted..."

o.0.o.0.o

**So did you enjoy the chapter? Please leave a review, no matter how small or silly!**

**Amy47101 signing off! ^.^**


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